A New Destiny
by Newbie1104
Summary: He knew that Henrietta had summoned him without a catalyst. That meant he was the best match for her. She needed help. She needed him. He was the solution for her problem. And surely, the two of them had something in common that they hadn't discovered yet. Shirou x Henrietta, AU. Rated T at the moment.
1. Kingdom of Tristain

_**Author's note:**_

**Here comes a new story from me. I've been planning on this one for a long time and finally, I decided to sit down and write it.**

**As you can see from the summary, this is a Shirou x Henrietta fic. I love that pairing, and was kind of sad to see that there aren't many fics about them out there, so in the end, I'll just go and make one.**

**Again, just like my two other stories; Shirou here comes from a mixed route of FSN, with UBW as the core. Shirou isn't in a relationship with any of the FSN girl in this story.**

**Finally, this is slight AU.**

**That's all for now, please enjoy. Feedbacks are always welcome.**

* * *

Henrietta was having mixed emotion. Part of her was filled with excitement, while the other was anxious. All because finally, the day she had been waiting had come – the day of the familiar summoning that had been prepared for a long time.

Summoning a familiar wasn't such a big deal, of course. However, for the princess, it entirely meant something else. Not long ago, her father – the King of Tristain, passed away. It wasn't confirmed that he died of natural cause or was assassinated. Henrietta suspected the latter. Her father was a healthy and strong man, he rarely ever got sick. It wasn't very convincing for someone like him to suddenly pass away. And the suspicion only grew firmer after she became the crown princess and gained more knowledge to the political situations going on around the neighboring countries. But in the end, without definite evidences, there wasn't anything she could do.

Needless to say, the unfortunate incident broke the hearts of both Henrietta and her mother – Marianne, the now former Queen of Tristain. Marianne, in despair over her husband's death, had stepped down. That was how Henrietta was made, or pushed to be exact, into becoming the Crown Princess of Tristain. Not that she was against it anyway, being as dutiful as she was. And the princess didn't resent her mother for her decision. Henrietta knew just how much she loved her father, and while Marianne didn't show much of her grief in front of her daughter, the princess could still hear her muffled sobbing during the night occasionally.

It wasn't like Henrietta was any better. She had had a fair share of nights where she cried herself to sleep. But now that she was the leader of her country, Henrietta knew that had to stop. After all, what kind of princess showed up in the morning, in front of her whole Council, with puffy red eyes?

Appearance aside, there was another reason why she couldn't afford to let herself being seen like that. She was a young, seventeen years old princess, whose experience in politics was next to none compared to some much older members of her own Council. Most of them were less than pleased with the decision of putting such a young girl into the highest position of power. Luckily, Henrietta was loved by the people of her country. Thanks to the pressure from public, together with the fact that she hadn't shown any weakness or made any mistake in front of them; that they still hadn't tried anything. But she knew that they were just patiently waiting for a chance where she slipped, before storming in and declaring that she was unfitted to be a ruler. And from the looks of things, that chance would surely come in the foreseeable future unless she did something about that right now.

In truth, Henrietta felt that she was still able to hold on until today was partially because of the supports from prince Wales of Albion – her cousin as well as lover. The thoughts about the handsome prince brought a smile to her lips as she walked to the room that had been specifically prepared for the summoning ritual. They'd been exchanging letters to each other, and each one from him was filled with loving and encouraging words that were able to cheer Henrietta up instantly. Of course, they hadn't met lately, and their love was still a secret seeing how…

As quickly as it appeared, her smile was gone, replaced by a sad look on her beautiful face. Albion was now facing a serious rebellion force, which was growing rapidly, stronger by each day. In that situation, their communication was interrupted, and prince Wales himself was now in constant danger. Henrietta worried for his safety to no end, but her hands were tied. She could only cling to the hope that he was still doing well, since if anything happened to Wales; that would be one of the first things included on the reports about the rebellion force that was delivered to her daily.

However, even that hope was gradually fading, from what Henrietta heard, the Albion's force was losing slowly. And as each day passed by, she wanted nothing more than leaving everything behind and come to him. But she knew she couldn't. Henrietta herself wouldn't allow it to happen. She was the ruler of this country. The people needed her, her mother needed her. She had her duties to fulfill.

And that wasn't even the worst of it. It was painfully obvious that the rebellion force wouldn't stop at just Albion. But Tristain itself was also a delicious prey. The King just died, and the current crown princess was an inexperienced girl, not to mention Tristain's military force was in a weakened state. They were in no position to fight. And in case Henrietta ignored all the political reasons and aided Albion; that still would be nothing but a suicidal move. Albion was famed for its unique placement. In order to reach there and break the rebellion's siege, Tristain would have to use its aerial force, the Griffin squadron, which was already very low on number. Besides, they would just become practice targets for the rebel's battle ships if they really tried to push the attack.

All in all, the situation Henrietta found herself in right now wasn't a pretty one, and even that'd already been a gross understatement. She was lonely, and scared deep inside. She needed helps. But maybe only some sort of miracle would be able to pull her out of the mess she was in.

Shaking her head to clear the troubled thoughts, Henrietta stepped inside the room. The magic circle had been drawn. There were two member of the Musketeer squadron stood guard beside the door and six more inside, along with her mother. She thought of it as unnecessary though, for whatever creature she would be summoning later, it should be safe. Even before the contract was sealed, it was a very low chance of her summoned familiar attacking its master. But Henrietta knew better than to decline the good will of the squadron Captain. In fact, she had tried and failed. That woman had absolutely refused to leave her alone anywhere outside of her bed chamber.

"Good morning, dear," Marianne said with a gentle smile. "How are you this morning? Is everything ready?"

"Good morning, mother," Henrietta bowed slightly and returned the smile. "Everything's going well. Actually, I think we can start now without any problem."

"That's good to hear. How are you feeling? Summoning ritual isn't a hard thing to do. But to gain your first familiar is a memorable event. What do you think it will be?"

"I honestly don't know," she shook her head. "But I think a griffin would be nice. Or something…you know, powerful…" She murmured the last part. Marianne seemed to understand what her daughter was hoping for, only smiled encouragingly and pulled her into a hug.

"I know what you're feeling, and I really hope that you will get what you want," she said. "But whatever your familiar turns out to be…"

"I will take good care of it," Henrietta nodded. "I know, mother."

"That's good. Now go, it's time for the ritual."

Following her mother's words, Henrietta stepped inside the magic circle. She then closed her eyes, focusing her magic and chanted, opening the magical door to her most suited familiar.

"_I, Henrietta de Tristain, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar."_

_Please, please, let me summon a familiar powerful enough to help me and my country, _she silently prayed desperately.

"I need help," those three words were whispered so quietly that only she could hear them.

Around her feet, the magic circle began to glow in a bright, but calming light. Henrietta knew that she was on the right track as she felt her magical power sipped from her, going into the circle. However, after five, ten, then twenty seconds, nothing happened.

_Did I mess up somewhere? _She wondered worryingly. But before the princess was able to voice that question, a loud explosion boomed right in front of her. Everything was soon covered in a thick screen of white smoke. After a moment of freezing in shock, Henrietta realized that something had gone wrong. She'd never heard of any summoning ritual ended up like that. But before she could do anything, much less call for anyone for help, a white gleam suddenly cut through the layer of smoke in front of her. And within just a blink of an eye, the princess felt the cold edge of a blade pressed against her neck. And just as she let out a surprise and horrified yelp, the attacker had left his original position, moving behind her back and held her in place. His blade was held still and firm, threatening that if Henrietta did something as much as move a little, it would be the last thing she got to do.

For the first time in a long time, Henrietta felt scared for her own life as tear threatened to fell out from the corner of her eyes.

* * *

"I _knew_ taking my eyes off of her was a mistake," Agnes, the Captain of the Musketeer squadron gritted her teeth as she raced through the hallway. Just a moment earlier, there was an explosion that shook the entire floor. That floor was almost deserted though, so beside a few guards that she put there, no one else knew about the incident.

Unfortunately, that was the floor where princess Henrietta was now performing her summoning ritual.

Upon reaching the door behind which was the room prepared for the ritual, Agnes kicked it open without hesitation, only to be welcomed by a thick curtain of white smoke. Not wasting another second, after seeing that the smoke wasn't harmful, she carefully stepped inside the room with sword in hand.

Agnes didn't have to wait long to see what was happening though. The smoke dispersed rather quickly, after a few seconds, she was able to see things in front of her. The guard Captain instantly realized the familiar purple hair of her princess. However, what she saw after that greatly shocked her.

In the middle of the room standing a horrified Henrietta. Behind her was a stranger that Agnes hadn't seen before. He was a young man in his early twenty at most, with auburn hair and golden brown eyes, which were now carefully observing the room around him. On his face, was a cautious look accompanied by a subtle hint of surprise. The boy, whoever he was, was wearing a strange set of clothes that Agnes was sure wasn't from around, his facial features suggested the same.

However, all of those details weren't as important as what he was doing. One of his hands was holding a white blade, which was now pressed firmly against Henrietta's neck, whiles his other hand holding her across her body, was also holding an identical looking black blade.

"You, release the princess this instance," Agnes grunted, ordering the stranger. Around the room, all of the guards had their swords out and pointed at him.

_He must be an assassin sent to kill the princess, _the guard Captain thought gravely. _How could the guards let an assassin snuck in without being spotted?_

All the while, Agnes's eyes hadn't left the boy even for a moment as her hand reached for the pistol strapped to her hip. She was waiting for him to slack his guard. And when worst came to worst, she and the others might just have to made some holes on him before he harmed the princess.

However, his respond wasn't what she expected.

"Princess…?" He asked hesitantly as his eyes widened a little, before quickly reverted to their original state.

"Don't play dumb," Agnes growled. "I don't know who you're. But I know why you're here. Now let her go, or I will make you."

To her annoyance and somewhat, fear, the boy started to smirk.

"Oh… How so? I'm the one with the hostage here," he said slowly. It looked like he wasn't used to speaking their language. "However, I mean no harm. As long as you aren't my enemies, that's it."

"Say the person who's holding a blade against someone else's neck," Agnes eyed him suspiciously, trying to buy some time. The boy was right; he definitely had the upper hand here. As much as she wanted to gut him, she couldn't let the princess be harmed.

"Safety measure. As far as I know, you may attack me the moment I release her."

_You're right about that, bastard, _Agnes glared at him.

"Seems like I was right," he grinned, making her frown. "That's good caution though. But I honestly just want to know what I've gotten myself into…"

"Don't deceive us," the Captain shouted back. "You're an assassin sent after the princess's life, aren't you?"

"Assassin?" The boy raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "I'm many things, lady, but never an assassin. If that was the case, this girl, the princess you say?...should've died already."

"Isn't that because you would've died too in that case?" Agnes asked. She was seriously annoyed his attitude by now. _Just keep talking, just a little more, I'll finish him the moment he lowered his guard._

"I doubt that," to her surprise, the boy grinned widely. "Inside this room, only the princess in my arms here has a chance at stalling me, and maybe that lady over there too," he flicked his head toward Marianne, who was now watching the scene with genuine fear as her daughter's life was being threatened. "The rest of you… No offence, but you guys won't stand a chance."

"You…You bastard, don't look down on us. We're the Musketeer Squadron, the best trained soldier in the whole Tristain," one of the guards behind him growled angrily.

"And you said all that while hiding behind your hostage, you coward?" Agnes mocked.

"I just prefer not to fight unnecessarily," the boy replied simply, unfazed. "And since no doubt that you guys will force my hand if I let her go…"

"Coward!" The Captain spat out.

"That's enough, Agnes," suddenly, Henrietta regained her voice and spoke up. Both Agnes and the stranger raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"If he wants to talk, we will hear him out," she said. Her voice trembling a little but one could see that the princess was trying to keep herself calm. "He was right. If he wanted me dead, I wouldn't be speaking right now. You wouldn't harm me, right, Mister?"

"But Your Highness…" Agnes started, but was stopped by Henrietta.

"Indeed, Your Highness," the boy nodded. His voice suddenly became softer. "I'm sorry for putting you into this uncomfortable situation. But I'm just as confused here and I need to ensure my safety."

"Very well," Henrietta replied. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

* * *

Emiya Shirou was extremely confused. One moment ago, he was packing for his trip back to Japan inside his room at the Clock Tower. And now, he was in the middle of God-knows-where, having blades pointed at himself from all directions. He remembered stumbled upon a strange glowing oval shaped object on his way to retrieve some books that he forgot back down in his workshop and was sucked inside, falling into a pool of complete darkness before appearing here, inside this room.

Right after landing, Shirou traced his favorite pair of blades – Kanshou and Bakuya as he started observing his surroundings. His vision was blocked by a thick curtain of smoke though, so he had to depend on his other senses. There were people shouting and talking all around, but judged by their voices, they were all panic and surprised as he was, and were outside of his reach. However, there were two sources of prana. One of them was far in the back of the room and while being strong, it was paled in comparison with the one right next to him.

After years of training under Rin and going on mission with the Enforcers, Shirou had learned that when something unexpected like this happened, it was best to strike first, and strike fast. He didn't know what was happening or who those people were. But at least he would have a better chance at defending himself with a hostage. Since there were magi amongst these people, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. Suddenly getting pulled into somewhere else? That sounded awfully familiar, just like what a certain Caster had done years ago to kidnap him.

So he struck. In his hand, Bakuya swung toward the nearest prana source with lighting speed. He didn't intend to kill the target. He wouldn't take life unnecessarily after all. But at the same time, he refused to let his life being taken for nothing.

_A girl? _Shirou wondered and stopped his blade as soon as he felt it touched the target's neck and heard a surprised yelp. Whoever she was, she wasn't a warrior. No warrior would yelp like that. But still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Immediately springing up on his feet, Shirou got to the girl's back and held her across his body while keeping Bakuya still where it was. He could feel his hostage stiffened in his arm.

After the smoke had dispersed, revealing the scene around, Shirou realized that he was inside a fairly large room, the same kind that could be seen at the Clock Tower with some kind of strange magic circle drawn under his feet. For a moment, he thought that it was just an accident. Just a careless magus had made a mistake with her experiment and well…transported him from his room somehow. However, Shirou quickly dismissed that thought.

Firstly, he didn't recognize the girl in his arm. A beautiful girl, younger than him, with short purple hair and a slender face. Shirou doubted that he wouldn't recognize someone like this if she was a member of the Clock Tower.

Secondly, there were soldiers pointing their swords at him. Shirou was absolutely sure that they were mundane people since one of his best fortes was the ability to sense magic, and they had none. And it was a known fact that the Clock Tower wouldn't allow anyone who wasn't a magus to enter their territory.

_Well, normal human soldiers are no match for me, _he mused. _But since it's come to this, I doubt that they would agree to solve things peacefully anymore. Better holding onto the hostage for a little longer._

And he was right, as a second later; another guard kicked the door open and demanded him to release the princess, as she put it. She spoke in what Shirou recognized as French. While he wasn't too fluent on said language, he could still speak it. Many of the magi at Clock Tower as well as some people inside the Enforcers were French. After spending time with them for years, Shirou was able to pick up the language. He then studied it some more, as he saw the benefits of learning other languages, especially for his plan to travel the world, helping out people. Shirou had never thought that it would become handy in a situation like this though.

But it was still a relief, if he didn't know French, then his entire plan to negotiate would've crumbled even before it began.

However, after a few minutes of exchanging words, Shirou started to feel that his effort was fruitless. Although, he was never a good negotiator to begin with, the woman, who appeared to be the Captain, was very stubborn. She insisted that he was some kind of assassin sent to kill the princess, who was in his arm right now. He had to note that for a normal human, she was a formidable soldier. From the way she held herself, to the way she walked, or how her hand had already ready on the trigger of the pistol on her hip. And there was also how she looked out for her princess's safety, all the while waiting for him to slack his guard to strike. There was no way Shirou would give her that chance though.

It was commendable, of course. But in this situation, it just served to worsen his growing headache.

Luckily, just as he was about to deem his effort of negotiating as a lost cause, the princess spoke up for the first time, stopping her guard from talking any further and decided to hear him out. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Very well," she said, staying still and looking ahead. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

"First of all, where are we?" Shirou asked.

"This is the royal castle, Kingdom of Tristain," the princess replied.

"Never heard of it," he mumbled, trying to shake his brain to find any memory regarding the mention of said country name. Needless to say, he failed miserably. "Where is it, exactly? Europe? America? You surely don't look like Asian."

"Where are those countries?" She asked with a hint of curiosity. "I've never heard of them either."

"Really?" Shirou's eyes widened in surprise. "How could you not? Where on Earth…"

"How could you not hear of Tristain?" This time it was the guard – Agnes – spoke. "Our country is very famous within Halkeginia."

"What is that? A continent?"

"It's _this _continent, idiot."

_How could I've not heard of it if it was an entire continent? _Shirou wondered, deeply confused. _And how the heck haven't they heard of America or Europe? _Then a thought suddenly hit him like a Gandr curse fired by Rin herself. It was crazy, no doubt, but he couldn't think of any possible explanation.

_Did I somehow get to another world? _He started to panic, but managed to keep himself calm, on the outside at least. _But that's impossible. Only Zelretch knows the Second Magic to travel between alternate worlds. Or is this a bad prank from the old blood sucker?_

"So where are you from?" The princess asked, cutting off his train of thoughts. "Also, how did you get here?"

"I'm from Japan," he answered. "And for the latter question, that's what I want to ask too. I was just going down a corridor before bumping into a glowing oval shaped object. The next second, I was here."

Upon hearing his answer, he felt the girl in his arm stiffened even more for a second, before starting to relax her body and let out a sigh.

"In that case," she said slowly. "I may have the answer for you. It's unbelievable, but still… Can you please let go of me first? I swear that we won't harm you in anyway."

"Not convincing enough," Shirou shook his head.

"Right, everybody, please put away your weapons and leave us alone," the princess ordered. "But can my mother stay though?" She asked, and Shirou agreed. Her mother, who the other magus appeared to be, wasn't much of a threat.

"But Your Highness," Agnes, on the other hand, started to protest. The other guards weren't willing to budge either. "He's dangerous. He threatened you and tried to kill you."

"I may have threatened her. But I've done nothing such as trying to kill her," Shirou retorted. But just as the Captain tried to argue, the princess raised her hand, despite the blade pressed against her neck.

"Agnes, and all of you. I order you to leave us alone. Mother, please stay with us," she said gently but firmly. And everyone knew that her order was absolute. One by one, the guards started leaving. Agnes was the last to linger inside the room. But after a final glare from the princess, she also left after casting a hateful look toward Shirou.

After confirming that they were away with his reinforced hearing, Shirou finally relaxed and released his hostage, carefully put some distance between him and the magi.

"Thank you very much," the princess and her mother bowed a little.

"Eh… You're welcome?" Shirou was confused. Did his hostage and her mother just seriously thanked him?

"Now that we've been safe, it's time to clear some misunderstanding. My name is Henrietta. I'm the crown princess of the Kingdom of Tristain. And this is my mother, Marianne."

"Emiya Shirou," he bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry that our first meeting wasn't ideal. And I'm sorry, madam, for threatening your daughter…"

_Did I just really take a princess hostage? _ Shirou thought. He was now freaking out on the inside. However, it didn't look like he was getting into trouble, judging from the way they talked to him.

Marianne stared at him for awhile, and was about to say something. She opened her mouth a little, but then decided against it and stayed silent for another couple of minute, before saying. "I understand where that came from. And judging from your answer, I also know why you're here and how that must've shocked you. But if you lay your hand on Henrietta again…" She then left the sentence hanging, but Shirou knew what she wanted to say. Never, ever, it was a good idea to challenge a mother's love.

"Of course, madam," he bowed again. "Then can you please explain to me just how I got here?"

"You were summoned, by me it seems," Henrietta replied. "I know it sounds crazy. I myself don't really believe it either, but it's the only explanation…"

And Shirou knew she was telling the truth, at least the part about her didn't believe her own words.

"Summoned?" He repeated as his eyes widened.

"I'm sorry. It must've been a shock for you. I take it magic isn't popular where you came from?"

"That's not it," Shirou shook his head. "But human summoning?" He asked. Of course, he had deal with summoned Servants before. But they were Heroic Spirits given human forms. Summoning a living human being on the other hand…

"That's what I thought too," Henrietta nodded. "I also never have heard of anything like this. But you see, I was doing a familiar summoning ritual. And just as I finished chanting, you appeared in the magic circle."

"We have a way to find out if that's the truth," Marianne spoke. "All you need to do is to complete the contract, dear. If you're able to do so with him, then he is indeed your familiar. But I'm surprised to see that you summoned a mere human as your familiar, someone who appeared to be a commoner at that."

From her voice, Shirou could feel that he had been insulted somehow. But now wasn't time for trivial matters. He needed to find out if he was really summoned here, to another world, if his suspicion was correct.

"I also feel the same, mother," Henrietta lowered her head. And Shirou felt like he had been insulted once again. Was summoning him really that much of a shame?

"But I'll take good care of my familiar, no matter what, or who is summoned," she concluded before turning back to him. "Mister Emiya Shirou, can we please try to complete the contract now?"

"Just Shirou is fine, Your Highness," he nodded. "And yes, it should clear things up faster that way."

"Very well, then allow me…" She said and started getting closer to him. Shirou instantly tighten his grips around his blades, but didn't do anything else. Henrietta then took a few other steps and was now standing right in front of him, blushing a little.

"Alright. Here I go," she said. _"My name is Henrietta de Tristain. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, bless this humble being, and make him my familiar."_

The princess then started leaning in. And Shirou knew instantly what she was trying to do. He only had a second to note that Henrietta looked even cuter up close now that he had a chance to look at her carefully before her lips pressed against his. They were incredibly soft, and the smell of her perfume was very comfortable and gentle.

"Ugh…" Suddenly, a surge of prana violently ran through his Magic Circuits, no doubt coming from her. That confirmed it, the contract had been established, and he was now taking supply energy from his master. That also meant that he was definitely summoned. And in front of him, Shirou could see that Henrietta was feeling it too as she grimaced and groaned a little at the sudden sensation of her magic being sipped.

_Just as I thought, _he mused, considering the large amount of prana he was receiving. _She's very powerful. Not Rin-level powerful, but close._

A burning sensation of focused prana gathered on his left forearm. And when Shirou glanced down to check, he saw some unfamiliar Runes had engraved themselves there, glowing brightly for a few seconds.

After a brief moment, Henrietta broke the kiss. She then looked at him in the eyes and smiled, still flushing. "It seems like I was correct. That's the familiar Runes. And can you feel it, Shirou? Our bond?"

"I certainly can, Y…Master," Shirou bowed. "You really are a powerful mage."

"Thank you," the princess nodded. "That settles it for now. Let us go back to my room, there're still many questions I want to ask you. And then there's also the issue of how to present you in front of the whole Council. They know I'm doing the ritual today, and surely they will want to know what my familiar is."

"You shouldn't let them know you summoned a commoner, dear," Marianne said and Shirou winced. He didn't know what the 'commoner' title meant in this world. But from the way the woman said it, it wasn't something to be held in high regard.

"It would be worse to let them think that I failed and couldn't summon anything, mother," Henrietta replied calmly. "And hiding him will raise suspicions. Besides, if what Shirou said was true, then he may not be just any commoner."

"Pardon?"

"He said that Agnes and her guards, the most competent non-magical squadron of our country, would stand no chance against him," the princess glanced at him. "And also both you and me could only stall him, isn't that right, Shirou?"

"Indeed, that was what I said, Master," he replied.

"What if you were just bluffing, familiar?" Marianne turned to him. "What do you have to back up your words?"

"Madam, I assure you that I can very well live up to my words," Shirou said evenly. "But before that, I still have question. Why do you keep calling me commoner? Well, I can understand that anyone beside royalty can be considered as such. But I can't help but think that there's something more behind the title."

"Shirou, a commoner is someone who isn't blessed with the gift of magic by our Founder Brimir," Henrietta explained. "And for those who is, they're called the Nobles. That's us, me and my mother."

"So it's as simple as that? The ability to use magic is what decides your rank in the society?" He raised an eyebrow. It wasn't an unfamiliar setting. The strong ruled over the weak. Even between the magi back at the Clock Tower, such procedure existed as well.

Henrietta nodded in confirmation.

"But well, even by that definition, I may still be a commoner," Shirou shrugged in respond. "Because I'm sure that whoever that Founder Brimir is, my power didn't come from him."

"You… You can use magic?" Both the princess and her mother's eyes widened at the revelation.

"The proper term that I use is 'magecraft', Master," he corrected her. "Shall I demonstrate here? After all, my abilities shouldn't be a secret to my Master. But it would need more than both words to explain."

Staring at him for a long while, Henrietta finally nodded.

* * *

Henrietta was deeply amazed. Surrounding her familiar was now hundreds of swords of all kinds, floating in midair. What was more? It seemed like Shirou just created them out of thin air, he used neither a wand nor an incantation. And more of them were still appearing continuously.

_Earth magic? _She wondered. To be able to achieve a feat such as that, Shirou must be at least a Square-level mage of Earth element, maybe mixed with Wind to make those swords float like that. Behind her, Marianne was also stared at the scene wordlessly. Shock was transparent on her face.

"Is this suffice, Master?" Shirou asked, still looking at her. The number of swords was still increasing rapidly.

"Yes, very," Henrietta nodded. "Thank you, Shirou. However, that raises another problem."

"What is it?" He asked. And instantly, all of the swords around him dissolved into thin air. She blinked at the scene, but didn't comment on it.

"Well, you can use magic, that make you a Noble," Henrietta sighed. "But again, the laws stated that we weren't allowed to form a familiar contract with another Noble, for the contract has a side effect. It will bend the familiar's mind to follow and obey the Master's orders, complete submission."

"Ah… In that case, worry not, Master. I'm sure that I'm still acting out of my own mind, for my magecraft granted me the ability of magic resistance, I can fend off things like mind control with ease. And just as I said, since my power doesn't come from Founder Brimir, I'm not a Noble."

"Even if that's the case,…Emiya," Marianne said, suddenly addressed him differently. It seemed like it was true that the Noble title had a big influence here. "Don't expect anyone here to buy that explanation."

"We know you're telling the truth, Shirou," Henrietta spoke up just as he was about to retort. "I can see it in your eyes. But you have to understand, me and many other Royal Council members, we're… not really on friendly term. They're all waiting for me to slip up so they can bring me down. Summoning a commoner as a familiar is one thing, sure, it will damage my reputation, but still better than complete failure. And it's certainly way better than breaking the rule and establishing a contract with a Noble."

"If your power got out, Emiya, they will cling onto that reason to bring down Henrietta," Marianne continued. "You're still young, and surely aren't from around here. So I feel the need to remind you that politics is a dangerous and delicate game. Don't show them any weakness to exploit. At that point, even if you get angry and threaten them, or resort to violence, it will only worsen the situation for your Master."

"I think I can understand that," Shirou nodded. "I was an apprentice until just recently. And my mentor also had one hell of a reputation to uphold. Thank you for your concern, madam," he then looked at Henrietta. "So I guess for now I will hide my power?"

"That's the plan. Do you have any other talent other than ma…magecraft?"

"Well, I'm a swordsman, as you can see," Shirou raised Kanshou and Bakuya, which were still in his hand. He then dismissed them and traced a long black bow – Shirou's bow as he called it. It was a tweaked version of Servant Archer's bow used in the Fifth Holy Grail War. "I also take pride in my skill with a bow."

"Really? That's good then," Henrietta smiled. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to announce that I've summoned you, a commoner. And you will be made into my personal guard. That way I can have you by my side all the time without much question. And you will only take direct order from me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Master," he nodded. "Of course, that goes without saying that I'll take your order alone. I was summoned here to help you. You're the only one who have authorize over me."

_To help me…? _Henrietta paused a little at his words. It was true that she had asked for help. _Was that why I summoned him? I have confidence in my skill; there was no way that I messed up something as simple as familiar summoning ritual. But here he is. Something that's never happened before, happened right after my prayer…_

_Nonsense, there's nothing indicates that was what happened, _she quickly shook her head. "Well, Shirou, let's go to meet the Council. I will have your own quarter assigned later. My apologize, I thought that my familiar was going to be an animal of some kinds, so I was prepared for it to be in the same room as me."

"It's alright," Shirou smiled, dismissing the bow. "If possible, can I have a room near yours? I wouldn't be able to assist you effectively if I stayed too far from you."

"Emiya," Marianne suddenly asked. "How old are you?"

"Me? I'm twenty one. Why do you ask, madam?"

"And Henrietta's seventeen," the woman continued. "Do you honestly think that it's a good idea to let you near my daughter every night? I trust her, but you I've just met. I'm sorry if it sounds rude but please understand a mother's concern."

"Mother!" Henrietta immediately protested. Her face flushed a little. "Nothing will happen. He won't be in the same room, and did you forget that Agnes has two people from her squadron stand guard outside of me room at all time?"

"But Emiya himself said that those guards wouldn't stand a chance against him. If he really wanted to…"

The princess then threw an apologetic glance at Shirou. But the boy didn't seem to be offended at all. In fact, he was just stand there and watching them with a smile.

"Don't worry, madam," finally he said. "It's true that our ages are close, and my Master is certainly a very beautiful girl. But even I know that it's inappropriate for a knight to think of his princess that way."

"That's right, mother," Henrietta nodded quickly. "Do you really think I would let anything like that happen? And not to mention that I've already had Wales…" She let the sentence hanging and looked down. Her cheeks reddened a bit more.

_Really, mother, _she thought to herself. _With all the speech, you just did this to amuse yourself, didn't you?"_

* * *

Shirou was standing on the balcony of his newly assigned room. Finally, evening came, and his first day in this foreign world was now coming to an end.

He casted his look to as far as he could see with his enhanced vision. It was a nice city in his opinion, but wasn't a modern one. Of course, Shirou should've realized that after an entire day spent inside a medieval castle like this.

Leaning against the wall, he turned his gaze up to the sky. There were two moons, and they were both much bigger than the one back in his original world. However, after all the strangeness that Shirou had seen in his life. Maybe something like that couldn't surprise him as much as it should.

Now that the day was over, Shirou finally had some time alone to reflect on today's events. Everything happened so suddenly and swiftly. And he had to admit that even now, his mind was still trying to comprehend the fact that this wasn't just a dream. Shirou was sure that by this time, Rin was freaking out back at the Clock Tower. It was understandable though, he disappeared without warning, with his luggage was still in the middle of packing. A shiver ran down his spine thinking of what the prodigy magus had in store for him once he came back.

_But can I ever come back? _He wondered and felt his chest tightened a little. Now that he was sure that it wasn't due to some cruel prank of Zelretch that he ended up here, but the result of a summoning ritual, how will he come back? Then there was also the contract with Henrietta. Of course, a contract could be easily severed whenever Shirou wanted, but after spending the day talking with her, he realized something.

That girl needed help.

She didn't appear desperate about it. But he could see it in her eyes. Her situation wasn't a beautiful one, having to deal with silent oppression from her own Council, while preparing the country for a possible invasion. Not to mention the fact that Henrietta was now being forced to stay out of the way while her lover was in danger, all in the name of politics. Wasn't that too heavy of a burden for a seventeen years old girl? Sooner or later, his Master would collapse from the weight of her own responsibilities.

_And knowing that, can I still bring myself to leave her? Assuming I can find a way back… _The answer was awfully clear. Shirou didn't know much about summoning rituals. But he knew that Henrietta had summoned him without a catalyst. That meant he was the best match for her. She needed help. She needed him. He was the solution for her problem. And surely, the two of them had something in common that they hadn't discovered yet.

_I'm sorry, Rin. It looked like I have to take my trip sooner than expected, _Shirou snorted dryly. His original plan was to travel the world, of course. But now, he had taken a step further and went straight to another world. _Damn you and your E rank luck, Archer, _he silently cursed. The only explanation for him being pulled into mess after mess was because he was blessed with a certain damned Counter Guardian's luck.

Shaking his head to clear the unhappy thoughts, Shirou decided that for the time being, there was no other way for him than remain here, helping his Master out of whatever trouble she was going to find herself in. Just like Henrietta, he was inexperienced in politics. But he could be her sword, protecting her from dangers and fight for her cause. And together, they could improve on whatever they were lacking. Even though they had just met, Shirou had been with her the entire day. And from the way he saw her interacting with people around the castle as well as normal citizens, he decided that Henrietta was worthy of being his Master. She was strong, powerful, kind, warm and gentle, and most of all, loved by her people. Someone like that couldn't possibly be a bad person.

Seeing it was getting late, Shirou got back inside, taking a quick bath before throwing himself on his bed. He was exhausted, not physically, but mentally, from the hectic day. He decided that it would be best to get some rest right now, and deal with the remaining problems later. He didn't need much sleep. But it was better to think with a clear and well-rested head.

**End of Chapter 1.**


	2. Life in the castle

_**Author's note:**_

**Here comes the second chapter. **

**Wow, 37 reviews, 180 favorites and 232 follows for the first chapter. I'm very happy and grateful for your support. It really motivated me to continue writing.**

**Also, I'm sorry for any mistake I've made. I've corrected the shower issue and any misspelled word that was pointed out by my reviewers. I'm also sorry for the grammar mistakes. I've done my best to weed them out but Words and my English skill can only help that much. I need to find a beta soon.**

**Well, that's all for now. Please enjoy.**

* * *

"No way…" Shirou murmured between short breaths as he raced down the candle lit hallway. Taking a quick glance back, he saw that his pursuers had been cut off. That didn't mean he could relax though. Shirou didn't know how many of them were there, but every time he thought that he had escaped, more of them instantly appeared and the chase continued.

_Damn it, there they are, _the boy silently cursed as he saw three others of his pursuers jumped out at the end of the hallway, intercepting his path. Shirou wasted no time though. He took the nearest right turn and kept running. _And the worst part of it is that I can't harm them at all._

While being chased, Shirou noticed that something was out of ordinary. They had let him run. The groups that blocked his paths didn't seem too interested in chasing him either. But instead, just more and more of them showed up and he didn't know how they did it, but the leader's group that had been chasing him around always seemed to be able to catch up with him while it was normally impossible for them to do so. To the boy's horror, he had a faint feeling that they had just been playing around with him.

In the end, it took Shirou several more minutes to realize what his pursuers really wanted. After taking another right turn to avoid the fourteenth intercepting group, he found himself facing a dead end with the only way out was to turn around.

However, even that option wasn't available now. Just as he turned on his heel, the leader's group had arrived, blocking his only hope of escaping. It seemed like the rest of them had regrouped as well.

_How many of them are there? _Shirou stared at them with eyes widened in horror. _One hundred? Maybe even more than that…_

"Well, well, Sir Emiya," the leader said sweetly. "It looks like the fun is over. You've been cornered."

"You've been planning this from the start, haven't you?" He grunted accusingly.

"Indeed. You may be much stronger and faster than us. But we have number. And certainly, we know this place much more than you do. Now surrender."

Taking it as an order, Shirou's pursuers slowly approached him; each of them was having a sadistic gleam in their eyes. He shivered slightly at the sight as cold sweats started breaking out on his forehead.

_I blame you for this, Master, _gritting his teeth, Shirou desperately looking around, trying to find a way to escape the fate that was awaiting him if he let himself get caught.

* * *

Meanwhile, said Master was sitting in her room, enjoying a cup of tea with her mother. Their tea time was a custom that the two of them had shared with each other for a long time. Those 'bonding' times between mother and child as Marianne liked to call them.

"The castle sure is lively today, don't you agree?" The former queen asked in an even tone, but a small smile could be seen tugging the corner of her mouth.

"Yes, it is, mother," Henrietta replied with an amused smile of her own.

"Are you sure it's fine for the maids to be running around like that?" Marianne cast a glance at her daughter after sipping on her tea. "And to involve Emiya as well…"

"They don't have to prepare our dinner for about another hour or so, so I've given my permission to the Head Maid. Besides, I haven't seen them having that much fun for a long time."

"Indeed. It wasn't an everyday thing for a male commoner that wasn't a guard on duty to appear inside the castle. Not to mention that you've specifically ordered them to force dress him by any means necessary…"

"That's because Shirou refused to wear the proper outfit for a guard when I asked him personally, mother," Henrietta retorted. "Saying how it would look ridiculous on him and what not. I think I heard him murmured that the outfit itself is ridiculous."

"And yet from the look on your face, I can't say that you mind," Marianne smirked slightly.

"A little insulting of him to say that, I have to admit," the princess sipped on her tea and sighed. "But he does have a point. I also feel that his current outfit suits him better than ours. But it was worth it for the maids to have fun chasing their new dress-up doll for awhile. That serves as his punishment as well."

She then grinned; remembering the outfit Shirou had worn (and was still wearing). It was some kind of long sleeved black and white coat and matching trousers, made from a material that she hadn't seen before. In her eyes, it strangely suited Shirou and certainly it allowed him to move more freely than Tristain's guard armor. However, that suit offered next to none protection as Henrietta saw it. Not to mention it seemed to lean toward the casual side.

"Still, you should order him to wear something more appropriate for a royal guard. Or at least something that might benefit him in a fight," Marianne spoke up and Henrietta agreed, since that was also what she had in mind.

"I'll have a talk with him later, after the maids had done with him," the princess answered and her mother chuckled. "But to be honest, I'm a bit relieved that he refused my order. Though it was more of a request than an actual order."

"Oh?" Marianne raised an eyebrow. "Why is that, dear?"

"He's a human, mother," Henrietta replied. "A Noble at that. It wouldn't be right if I were to force him into submission against his will. That's why I was a bit startled after hearing him called me 'Master' right after finishing our contract. I think it would be fine with an animal since it might be dangerous. But a human being…"

"May be even more so," her mother finished the sentence, shaking her head. "Of course you're the Crown Princess now, so your word is final. But take this little advice from your mother."

"I'm grateful, mother. And I promise I will be careful around Shirou. But somehow I think I can trust him. If he wanted to harm me, then yesterday was the perfect chance," she smiled. _Especially when it seemed like he comes after my prayer. I can't prove it, but somehow, my mind keeps telling me that it's the right explanation…_

"That wasn't what I mean by 'dangerous', Henrietta," Marianne sighed. "You have to be aware of your position. You're a royal princess; that means you have political power and wealth. Not to mention you're very beautiful," she then paused a little and looked at her daughter with a proud smile. "Those are what a cunning man will aim for, rather than your life."

"If worst comes to worst, I'll be able to defend myself, mother. I'm quite powerful, as you've already known. At least I think I can keep him away long enough should the need arise. Besides, his power may just be what I need now…"

"What do you intend to do with Emiya? Send him to Albion to Wales' aid?"

"That was my original intention," Henrietta sipped on her tea again. Somehow the discussion had taken a serious turn. "But now I don't think it's such a good idea anymore. As much as I'm worried for Wales, I have responsibility for Shirou and my people. If I were to send him to Albion, his sudden absence would raise unwanted questions. Also, no matter how powerful Shirou is, he is just one man. I doubt that it would be able to turn the table."

The princess then closed her eyes tightly for a moment. As reasonable as they sounded, those words were cutting her deep inside. She loved Wales and was so worried for his well being. But Henrietta also knew that her prince wouldn't approve the action of recklessly sending her familiar to the battlefield without any guarantee of succeed, not to mention damaging her own reputation in the progress.

_I'm sorry, dear, _she vowed silently. _Just hold on a little longer, I'll find a way to help you as soon as possible…_

"Are you alright?" Marianne, no doubt sensed her daughter's troubled feelings, reached out and took Henrietta's hand in her own.

"I'm fine. Thank you, mother," the princess opened her eyes and gave her mother a smile. "Anyway, for the time being, I think Shirou's power will be greatly needed here. In order to help Albion, we will have to strengthen our military and Council first. From what I gathered, there're many Nobles within our rank that were corrupted, abusing their power over the commoners and even accepting bribe or taking part in shady business. But then, without solid evidence, my hands are tied, once again, just like father's case," she paused. Although it had been quite some time since the King's death, its mentioning still made her heart ache and tear welled up in her eyes.

"I'll have him and Agnes gathering evidences for me for the time being," Henrietta concluded after calming down. "We will discuss this together after I found out more about Shirou's true potential. With Earth magic of that level, surely it wouldn't stop at just creating swords. And I'm going to use that to my advantage."

"A wise course of action," Marianne commented. "But I still say that it's risky to let a stranger take part in that plan of yours."

"I have no choice, mother," Henrietta sighed. "Agnes is the only one I can trust in this castle beside you. And Shirou is my familiar, so I have to wager on him. We don't have time to hesitate now that a door had been opened for us with his arrival. The longer we wait, the direr the situation becomes."

"I hate to agree to that, but you're right," the former queen sighed heavily. "I just hope that you chose the right people to place your trust."

"I…" She was about to answer, but right at that moment, there were other voices on the other side of the door.

"Emiya, oh Brimir, what happened to you?" Henrietta heard one of the guard asked in astonishment.

"You can't go in there. Your Highness has ordered us not to accept any visitor," the second guard said firmly. She then hesitated a little before adding. "But really, why are you looking like that?"

"Maids…" was the murmured answer from Shirou that no doubt confused the two. Henrietta and Marianne on the other hand, just looked at each other and giggled lightly. The princess then walked toward and opened the door. In front of her standing two wide eyed guards, together with a pitiful looking Shirou. His hair and clothes were a mess. Cold sweats covered his face and he was breathing wildly just like he had just finished a marathon. Which in fact, he had.

Clearing her throat to cover up the laughter that was threatening to escape, Henrietta then asked, feigning surprise. "Shirou? What happened to you?"

"You…" He stuttered, but finally sighed in resignation. "Never mind. I've never realized that you were such a petty person, Master. But please don't comment on that. Just let me in before the maids found me."

"So you agree to wear the outfit that I requested?"

"No freaking way, Master," he answered flatly, making the two guards' eyes widened even more in shock at the way he speak to the princess.

"Watch your language, Emiya," from inside the room, Marianne stepped out and scolded him. "I don't know how you normally speak. But please restrain from using such word around my daughter."

"As long as she stopped unleashing the maids on me, madam," Shirou bowed a little. "And I have good reason to prefer my outfit over the armor, Master," he turned to Henrietta. "You just never let me explain myself."

"You mean beside its appearance isn't up to your liking?" The princess raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Well, come in then," Henrietta eyed him a little before saying. She then turned to her mother. "I'm sorry, mother. I think we have to end our bonding time early today."

"It's alright," Marianne replied with a smile. "You need to bond with your familiar as well. And certainly there're many other important things to do than chatting over a cup of tea."

"Spending time with you is just as important as any other, mother."

"I understand, dear," the former queen waved her hand with a smile. "So same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow," Henrietta nodded. Her mother then turned away and left.

"You two please return to your duty. And absolutely no visitor this time. Call me when it's dinner time," she told the guards before closing the door and walked back inside. There were many things that she wanted to ask Shirou now that his little chase with the maids was over.

* * *

"So for the reason I prefer my outfit," Shirou began his explanation after he and Henrietta had sat down at her table. "It's because your armor restricted my movement. If it's protection that you're worrying about, then don't. With my magecraft, I can strengthen my clothes to stop attacks from mundane weapons just like any armor. Besides…" He then stood up and started rolling up one side of his trousers, revealing an array of Runes on the inside.

"Those Runes, when activated will give me an instant boost to my speed for a brief moment, enough to surprise any opponent. And I don't want to go through the progress of engraving them all over again on a set of metal armor," he explained. That array was used by Rin. According to the prodigy magus, it was those Runes that saved her life on her first encounter with Lancer Cu Chulainn. Shirou figured that having a burst of speed beyond his reinforcement level was always an advantage.

Besides those Runes, during his time at the Clock Tower, Shirou had learned a lot of others as well. But since he'd already had his 'Reinforcement', there was no use to engrave strengthening Runes on his clothes. Therefore, he only used those in making bounded fields, which was also one of the things that he could do quite well now.

"I see," Henrietta nodded. "But still, can I suggest something more appropriate? You can't dress like that all the time as my personal guard. And I think something more… fitting will be more suited in a fight than those clothes."

"I have a set of battle outfit, back home that is," Shirou sighed. He had made an imitation of Archer's black armor using a different material. However, it was currently lying inside his trunk back at the Clock Tower at the moment. "But I think I can make one more if I have the necessary materials."

"What do you need then? I can order our craftsmen to make it for you."

"Thank you, Master. But I prefer to do it myself," he smiled. It would take much less time to craft the set using his 'Alteration' rather than wait for the others to do the same. "As for the things I need, I can give you a list later. Is that acceptable?"

"I guess it is," Henrietta nodded after pondering for a moment. "Let's move on then. I've wanted to ask you since yesterday. Why did you suddenly address me as 'Master' instead of 'Your Highness' after our contract? Are you sure the mind controlling isn't affecting you?"

"I'm sure," Shirou answered, looking straight into her eyes. "I address you as 'Master' because…well, you're my master. Of course, there isn't any obligation regarding such thing. I just wanted to honor…an old friend. I can call you 'Your Highness' or even your name. Just so you know I'm not bound by the side effect of the contract."

"Then I think it's fine to address me the way you did before our contract," Henrietta said, sighing. "I'm not really comfortable with the whole 'Master' title. Especially when you use it in front of the others."

"As you wish, Your Highness," Shirou nodded. "On that note, I've got something bugging me too."

"What is it, Shirou?"

"Right, yesterday I was too confused to really realize it. But didn't you say that you were worried because you think I was a Noble?"

"I said it would raise unwanted troubles," Henrietta corrected. "What about it?"

"Then what if I was really just a commoner? Would you just go ahead and seal the contract without giving it any thought at all?"

As if seeing where Shirou wanted to go with his questions, the princess smiled sweetly before standing up with him.

"Shirou," she said softly. "Commoner or Noble; we're still human. I still wouldn't be able to have a goodnight sleep knowing that I'd just enslaved a human being against his will. That law was only there to prevent the Nobles from taking advantage of another Noble. Besides, I don't think that any Noble would take a commoner as their familiar."

"What a comforting consolation," Shirou snorted humorlessly, feeling the anger building up within him. "In the end it was only because you Nobles looked down on the commoners. And by the way the law is phased; it appeared that whoever wrote that line didn't care about the commoner's rights and freedom at all, since it's still fine to bend the mind of the commoners against their will."

What an unfair world. It seemed like the wedge between social classes here was deeper than he thought. By no mean it was alright to mess with a person's mind and enslave him. Of course, as far as Shirou knew, nothing like that had ever happened. But still, in theory, that was accepted by the law, one that completely disregarded the rights of those who were considered lesser beings, just because they couldn't use magic.

"Shirou…" Henrietta hesitated.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I know you're not like that," Shirou assured her. "The way you trust Agnes is enough to prove it. And I'm not saying that all Nobles are like that either. But to have that kind of people sitting at the top and writing the laws? I don't think I can accept that," by now, he could feel his anger was slipping out with his words, as his voice started trembling. However, Shirou knew that it was unfair to direct that anger toward Henrietta, so he tried his best to restrain it. After all, the girl had done nothing wrong.

"You know what, Shirou. I agree," the princess said solemnly while looking deep into his eyes. "There're way too many unworthy and corrupted Nobles sitting in powerful positions within our Council. Let them be and they will only cause harm to our country and people."

"Then why not punish them?"

"It's not that simple," Henrietta shook her head sadly. "They're very cunning and slippery. The evidences of their wrong doings, if any still exist, were hidden very well. And I can't do anything without getting my hands on those. If only there's a way to bring those corrupted bastards to light…"

Shirou's eyes widened in shock at the normally graceful princess's choice of word. He then chuckled loudly, earning a shy smile from Henrietta.

"I'm sorry, it seems like Agnes has been rubbing off on me," she murmured. Her cheeks reddened a little as she looked away bashfully. And Shirou couldn't help but notice that she looked even more beautiful and cute that way. He found himself staring for several seconds before snapping out of it.

"I don't mind that. But I can't say the same for your mother," he returned her smile. "You're right though. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I knew you would ask, Shirou," the princess beamed up at his offer. "I've been hoping that you could somehow help me with dealing punishment to…to those bastards."

Shirou grinned as Henrietta chuckled lightly, flushing again. He was glad to see that his Master still had a humor and relaxing side to her as well. Obviously, his chase with the maids earlier was another indicator to that statement.

_It's good for her, _Shirou thought. _I was worried that she would be too caught up in her problems and forget to have fun. But it looks like I was wrong._

"But before that," she continued after awhile. "I'll need to know more about your abilities so we can make plans accordingly. I'm sure that creating swords isn't the only thing you can do, right?"

"Of course not, Your Highness," Shirou shook his head. "Here, please sit down and let me show you more. By the way, do you want some more tea?"

* * *

"It's delicious," Henrietta exclaimed excitedly after taking a sip of the tea made by Shirou. "You're really good at this, Shirou."

"It's one of my abilities in case you need to take note of," the boy smiled brightly. "That and cooking, or any house chore in general."

"You're kidding," the princess's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would a Noble…"

"Again, I'm not a Noble, Your Highness," Shirou reminded her. "At least not at where I came from. I used to live by myself when I was a kid, so it's natural for me to have to cook and do chores. Apparently I've taken a liking to it."

"Where're your parents…?"

"Dead," Shirou simply shrugged. "They died in a fire when I was about five years old. I was adopted soon after but my adoptive father also passed away not long after that."

"Oh…I'm sorry, Shirou. I didn't mean to…" Henrietta brought her hands up to cover her gasp as she looked at him apologetically.

_It was so insensitive of me. Why else a kid would have to live by himself? _She thought, couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy in front of her. The princess herself knew the pain of losing a parent. She was still much luckier to have her mother, while her familiar had lost both of his parents, then even his adoptive one. And he still so young back then. Not that he was old now though.

"Don't worry about it," he waved his hand. "It happened a long time ago."

Henrietta stared at him for a moment, but didn't say anything as she knew better than pursuing the subject. She then asked.

"So you're going to show me your other abilities?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Shirou nodded and emptied his tea before handing her his cup. She looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was doing. "As I've told you, I have an ability that I can use to strengthen my clothes called 'Reinforcement'. You've probably figured out what it does based on its name. Here, try to smash this cup on the floor."

Hesitating but couldn't deny that she was also feeling excited, Henrietta reached out, taking the cup in her hand. She then cast an uncertain look at her familiar. After receiving his encouraging nod, she raised her arm and threw down the cup as hard as she could. To her surprise, it wasn't the shattering noise like she was expecting. Instead, a loud dry 'clang' could be heard, and the cup remained intact without even a dent.

"Wow," Henrietta exclaimed. "If it is what I think it is, then this is a very useful spell you have there, Shirou."

"Indeed," Shirou nodded with a smile. "It strengthens its targets. Not just harden them, mind you. For example, if I were to use it on a sword, said sword would become sharper as well. And If used on a human body…"

"Then that person's attributes will raise," the princess nodded in awe. Of course, in her world, there were strengthening Runes. But their effects weren't as flexible as Shirou's 'Reinforcement', not to mention the need of engraving complex Runes arrays before it can be used. Compared to Shirou's instant casting without even her noticing, it was clear which one was the better. "It's a very useful spell to have," she told him with a smile.

"It is, isn't it?" Shirou, on the other hand, replied with a crooked grin. "Unfortunately, 'Reinforcement is a double edged sword," he said while bending down to pick up the cup. "It works by having the caster transfers his prana, or magical energy, into the target, strengthening it. However, each object only has a certain limit on how much it can be reinforced. It can't accept any more prana once that limit is reached."

"What happen if the caster forces it to?" Henrietta asked, knowing the answer wasn't going to be a pleasant one.

"Well, here," her familiar simply shrugged, flicking his head toward the cup in his hand. And just a second later, the cup shattered and exploded into many small pieces, causing Henrietta to yelped in shock and surprise.

"Imagine that happening to a human's body," he said before noticing the look on her face. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. Especially right before the meal…"

"No, it's alright," Henrietta murmured with wide eyes, trying to push away the gory image of an exploding human body. She then looked at Shirou and asked gravely. "And you've been using that dangerous spell? I knew you've used it on your body too. You wouldn't give that example otherwise…"

"That's right, Your Highness," Shirou smiled at her. "Most of the magi from my world considered it too risky to even attempt…"

"And I can't say they're wrong."

"Right. But there's another thing you need to know about your familiar. I'm a unique mage. Rated by our own standards I'm just a third rate one, for my element doesn't allow me to perform spells effectively except for a few that normally considered useless by the others. That's why I spent all of my time and attention at mastering them."

"What do you mean by that, Shirou?" Henrietta asked. "Here in our world, Earth magic is one of the most widely used."

"Earth?" To her surprise, Shirou raised an eyebrow. "No, I think you've mistaken, Your Highness. My element isn't Earth. It's 'Sword'."

"Sword?" She repeated after him, totally confused.

"I take it also is one of the irregular here," he said while gathering the broken pieces of the cup.

"It doesn't even exist here," Henrietta murmured, surprised, but no doubt found the revelation to be very interesting. A whole new magic system had been opened In front of her, brought by her familiar. And while the princess wasn't certain if she could learn to use it or not, she still wanted to know everything possible about it. After all, in her mind, knowledge was power.

"You never know," Shirou chuckled. "Anyway, it took me a lot of trials and errors to figure out my body's limit. Through the use of another skill of mine - 'Structure Analysis' as you can call it; I've been able to inspect my own body and experiment on it. A painful progress, I have to admit. But the result is totally worth it."

The princess froze in place hearing her familiar's explanation. _Is he insane? _She thought. It was unthinkable for anyone to do what the boy had done. _Even some of my most driven scholars won't go to such extend, risking their own lives like that…_

However, before Henrietta was able to voice her question, they were interrupted by some knocks on the door, informing them that it was dinner time. With a sigh, she turned back to Shirou.

"I'm sorry, but I think we have to stop here. Can you please escort me to the dining hall?"

"Absolutely, Your Highness. We can continue this tomorrow," Shirou nodded with a gentle smile. The two of them then left Henrietta's room.

The princess felt no appetite at the moment though. Her head was filled with questions about Shirou. If anything, his explanation only confused her more. What kind of person was he? Henrietta trusted that he was a good person, seeing his strong disapproval of manipulating the commoners' minds. But she also knew that there were more to her familiar than he let on. He didn't seem to shy away from her questions though. So maybe once they had the chance to talk more…

On the other hand, that 'magecraft' thing Shirou was using, especially the 'Reinforcement' spell, while it was quite useful, it was also appeared to be highly dangerous. Remember what happened to the cup sent a shiver down the princess's spine. Shirou was confident about his ability. But what if he messed up somehow in the future? There was no guarantee that he wouldn't after all. And Henrietta would hate it if her familiar injured, or even killed himself using such dangerous art, especially when he was on a task assigned by her. She summoned him here after all, so it was her responsibility to see to his well being as much as possible.

_Should I ask him to restrict its use? _ She wondered. According to Shirou, he had done experiments on his own body, so he had to have a grasp, even vague, about his own limit. She didn't think he would argue if she told him not to approach that line too closely if he could help it.

_Well I guess I'll have to talk with him tomorrow then, _Henrietta sighed heavily before realizing that she wasn't alone. Looking behind, she noticed Shirou and two of Agnes's guards were looking at her with concern. Feeling her cheeks heated up a little, the princess gave them a reassuring smile before quickening her pace. Marianne didn't like it when she was late for meal times, and Henrietta knew better than to upset her mother. However, there was still a final question that she wanted to ask her familiar.

"Shirou," turning back once again, Henrietta asked. "How did you escape the maids earlier?"

"Please spare my dignity," Shirou grimaced and refused to answer, making her and the two guards next to him giggled at his embarrassment.

* * *

After dinner, Shirou found himself wandering the castle's exterior, applying his 'Structure Analysis' here and there. He had determined to figure out and remember the place's lay out as much as possible after the chase with the maids. Normally, it would take weeks for him to completely scan the whole area. But with Henrietta's prana supply, he could keep on doing so without having to rest for a long time.

It was rather late, and the princess had returned to her room after dinner. Since servants and familiars weren't allowed to eat with their Master, Shirou had to stand beside her during the meal, and went to get his own after she had finished. Not that he mind though. He wanted to find out more about her, so watching her talking with her mother was a good opportunity just as any. Shirou noticed that dinner time was considered their relaxing time, as the two of them only talked about everyday mundane things.

He was pretty amused when Marianne once again decided to tease Henrietta about her relationship with Wales. It seemed like they were cousin, related by blood even. But from what he heard, it wasn't such a big deal here in this world. Besides, he had seen too much weirdness in his own life so something like that wasn't enough to greatly surprise him. Also, he had spent years living amongst magi at the Clock Tower. Needless to say, 'moral' was one of the least regarded concept there.

_Wales seemed to be a good guy though, _Shirou mused. During the meal, he had heard both the Henrietta and her mother complimented the prince. And if he truly was that good of a guy, it wasn't a surprise that his Master fell in love with him. Heck, Shirou probably would too if he was a girl. Blond, handsome, intelligent with great charisma, not to mention that the guy was also powerful in his own right, and on top of that, he was a prince. What was there not to love about a guy like that? Ignoring the fact that his head was currently wanted by the rebellion of course.

_I wish those bloody rebels could be deal with quickly, _Shirou sighed heavily. Henrietta might not realize it, but sometimes, he could catch her casting longing looks out of the window. She looked so lonely during those moments, making his 'helping people thing' act up. Shirou had even intended to go to Albion and break the rebellion's siege himself, or at least kidnapping that Wales guy back here so that the two of them could meet, even just for a little while. However, the realization soon dawned on him that he didn't have a clue of where Albion was and how to get there. Not to mention Shirou was completely clueless about the rebellion's army size, what weapon they used, or any spell/special ability they had. His utter lack of knowledge about this world's magic system didn't help either. Frankly speaking, there were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong if he were to attempt such attack.

Kidnapping the Prince Charming was even more out of question. He was the leader of the Albion's force. If he were to disappear, it would surely cause chaos within their ranks, making them fall even sooner.

And lastly, but also the most important reason that held Shirou back, was that Henrietta needed him here in Tristain. She needed him to help her clearing out the worms that were corrupting the country's government. That was the first step to strengthen their stance against the invasion should Albion fell. Sadly, from what Shirou gathered, the downfall of Albion would happen sooner or later. That much was certain, unless a miracle happened.

In the end, Shirou could only pray that Wales would at least come out of it alive, regardless the inevitable result. He didn't want to see Henrietta with a broken heart. However, deep inside his mind, Shirou knew that the chance of that happening was slim, if not downright impossible. If what he heard about the blond prince was true, then it wasn't likely that that guy will abandon his comrades to save his own skin.

_I don't know how, not now. But I will think of some way to keep that guy alive, _Shirou thought. That shouldn't happen, Henrietta loved him. She needed him to live and be with her, not to die for his honor. Besides, as long as Wales was alive, there was still a chance for him to retake Albion from the rebellion. _That's right, as long as he doesn't die, there's always hope._

Shaking his head and sighing, Shirou returned to scan the castle's lay out, deciding that it was still too soon to worry about such things. His top priority now should be helping out Henrietta and learning more about this world. He wasn't a Servant, so there wasn't any knowledge provided for him after the summoning ritual. That wasn't a big deal though. Shirou could totally manage studying on his own.

That was a surprising and unexpected result of his 'Reinforcement' experiments on his body. During one of the sessions, Shirou had got an idea, one that was both brilliant and foolish. He wanted to know what would happen if he tried to reinforce his brain. And that was exactly what he did. At first, Shirou had got splitting headache and a severe bleeding nose, but he didn't give up. After awhile, his brain started to adjust to the changes and he was actually benefited from doing so. Obviously, with a strengthened brain, Shirou could process information at an inhuman rate. He could see things in slow motion, which took him a lot of time to get used to and reinforcing other body parts to be able to match his brain's reaction speed. But nevertheless, that was a big advantage on the battle field.

The second benefit was that Shirou could now read much faster and remember things way better than any normal people with his reinforced brain, which made study become much easier than it should. He still remembered how envious Rin was when she first discovered his new found ability. It wasn't his fault though. He risked his life for it, so he had every right to use that ability to his advantage.

The only downside was that the human brain wasn't made to withstand the pressure of being reinforced for an extended period of time. During battles, Shirou could only use it about ten minutes before the side effects started showing, which included headache and nosebleed. It was better when he was just studying, not moving around much. Shirou recalled that he had lasted an hour in his last study session before being forced to cancel the reinforcement. For a normal person, an hour of study may not be anything big. But under the spell's influence, Shirou was able to read and remember way more that what a normal person could do in at least seven hours. Needless to say, for any outside observer, all that person could see was Shirou flipping through the books and scrolls with an inhuman speed, since he had to reinforces his hands, arms and eyes as well, to match the brain's speed.

"Seems like I got lucky for once," Shirou chuckled softly. It was only then he realized that it was really late. He had walked around the entire castle once and was now memorizing all of its passages and hallways as well as rooming placements. He was quite surprised to figure out that there were many hidden passages within the castle's walls, no doubt used by the servants to move around quickly within such a large building.

_So that's how those maids managed to always catch up to me no matter where I went, _he grimaced. _But now that I know about their secret, it'll never happen again._

"You, what're you doing out here at this time," suddenly, a familiar voice called from behind, making Shirou turned around. Standing not far away from him was the Musketeer Captain – Agnes. She was wearing full set of her armor, which wasn't anything unusual. However, on a closer look, Shirou also noticed that she was sweating all over and her breathing was a bit short.

"Good evening, Captain," he greeted her with a smile. "I was just taking a walk. Do you always practice this late? That's admirable."

"Save your flattery," Agnes snarled. "I'm not your friend and I'm not here to have a chat. Say, what're you planning to do with the princess?"

"Helping her," Shirou answered truthfully. "But really? You really expect someone with ulterior motives to answer that question?"

"I'll just make him, nevertheless," glaring at him, the guard captain placed a hand on her blade's hilt. "And don't fool me. You suddenly showed up from nowhere and now you're claiming wanting to help the princess? I don't trust you."

"You said it. I just showed up from nowhere, so what do I have against the princess that makes me want to harm her? I didn't even know she was a princess in the first place," he retorted with a sigh. "And hello? In case you forgot, it was the princess herself who summoned me, forcefully pulled me away from my home world. If anyone has the right to doubt and complain, it should be me."

"Why is that? You're now her personal guard. You're in the perfect position. What's there to complain?"

"How about the friends and plans that I have to leave back home and disappeared without saying a word?"

"That's…" For the first time since Shirou met the woman, she seemed to be at a loss of word.

"It's alright though," he shrugged, making Agnes raised an eyebrow. "I've always wanted to help people. So if the princess needs my help. I'll be willing to provide. I think we're alike in that aspect. Why can't we just be friends?"

Staring at him questioningly for awhile, Agnes finally answered. "Because I don't trust you," she said simply. "You've just arrived for over a day, and haven't done anything worth noting, besides pressing your bloody blade against the princess's neck, that's it," she spat out angrily. "I'm not her. I don't trust people that easily. And I'm sure that I have no intent of being friend with someone whom I can't trust."

"Fair enough," Shirou sighed. It was also like this back when he had first take part in missions with the Enforcers. Some of them didn't trust him at all. It was only after he was able to prove his worth on the battle field that they started to warm up to him. "I guess it can't be helped. I understand your reason though."

"At least you're smart, unlike some scatter brains that I've met," Agnes replied sternly before walking past him to return to her quarter. "Watch your back, Emiya, for I will closely watch over your every move. If I find out the slightest hint that you mean harm for the princess…"

Agnes didn't finish her sentence. But Shirou knew well enough to understand her. Watching her disappear toward the castle's front gate, he couldn't resist the smile that was sneaking onto his face.

"First your mother, now your Guard Captain. You certainly have good people who really care for you, Your Highness," Shirou murmured softly in amusement. He was happy for her.

_Well, it's time to come back, _he thought while stretching his body. _I can practice my magecraft a little before going to bed. After all, I don't need much sleep. Tomorrow I will expand my scan to the castle's exterior areas._

With that in mind, Shirou also turned and slowly walk toward the castle's gate, all the while enjoying the cool night breezes that were gently caressing him.

* * *

Agnes had returned to her room after her daily practice. After a bath to clean herself of the sweats and dirt, the Musketeer Captain then prepared to turn in for the day. However, her thoughts were still lingering around a certain auburn haired boy and their recent encounter.

_Who is he, really? _She wondered. Despite her limited knowledge about magic, Agnes knew that human summoning was unheard of. However, it was the princess herself who claimed that she had no doubt summoned him. She even went as far as making him her personal guard – a position that Agnes herself wanted. The guard captain couldn't help but felt a tingle of jealousy when she first heard of the announcement.

However, Agnes also knew that her distrust toward the boy didn't come from jealousy. No, she was better than that. It was simply how she was. After all, she didn't get this far without being cautious. And a stranger, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and took the princess hostage certainly wasn't someone to be trusted easily, if not at all.

But again, Agnes was obviously taken aback when Shirou told her what his intention toward the princess was. _Helping her__, _he said. Did he really think she would buy that? No, of course not.

_But he looked so sincere when he said that, _another part of her retorted. _Nonsense, they were nothing but empty words. Until I see his actions, I'm not going to trust him the slightest._

Agnes had been observing the boy closely for most of the time. And she was disappointed from not being able to discover anything about the mysterious familiar, be it good or bad. He'd even let the maids chase him around for hours for Brimir's sake, just because he didn't want to wear the guard outfit.

_What is that bastard playing? _Gritting her teeth in annoyance, the Guard Captain then quickly trying to calm herself down. After all, she couldn't do anything to him now as he had the princess's protection. But as soon as he slipped and let out something suspicious…

_Until then, I'll just keep an eye on him, _Agnes told herself as she climbed into bed. It was late, and she still needed to wake up early tomorrow for her patrol. It wouldn't do to have the Captain dozed off while on duty. She had to set an example for her squad. That was still her first and most important priority at the moment.

With that in mind, Agnes closed her eyes and let the sleepiness took over her mind. Not knowing that by the following day, she would receive an order from none other than Henrietta, one that she wasn't going to enjoy at all.

**End of Chapter 2.**


	3. Taking actions (1)

_**Author's note:**_

**Another chapter's out. Thank you very much for your support.**

**There's really nothing much to say about the chapter, except for a little spoiler that there will be action at the end. But everybody should've figured it out based on the chapter title already.**

**Finally, I want to give my special thanks to ****souvikkundu0017, who had made a big contribution for the story, regarding information about Nasuverse. I'm very grateful for his support.**

**That's all for now, please enjoy.**

_**Beta by: **__**Euphonia. Thank you for taking your time to beta my work.**_

_**P/S: Updated: Changed Excalibur with Caliburn due to technical issue (lol?). Also note to self: Listen to your beta more!**_

* * *

Lying on her bed, Agnes was trying her best to fall asleep as she still had guard duty the following morning. However, as much as she wanted to just close her eyes and drift off, it didn't happen.

She had too many things on her mind at the moment. It had been a crazy couple of days after all. Things had been out of control since the day of the stranger named Shirou Emiya's sudden arrival. However, whatever Agnes had suspected of the boy was completely thrown off track because of what she had witnessed after their conversation in the castle's courtyard.

Before, to her, Shirou was just a suspicious commoner who might or might not have been summoned by the Princess and made her personal guard. He could be dangerous given his unrefined appearance and his close position with the Princess despite being a newcomer. But he was nothing that Agnes couldn't handle should the need arise.

Now, however, she wasn't so sure. The shocking revelations about that boy during the last few days had left a strong impression in her mind. Agnes had watched his test in front of the whole Council, and had observed him on his first mission. Not to mention the piece of secret that the Princess was pressured into sharing with her at none other than Shirou's insistence - though with that bit of information added into the mix, many things had indeed become easier to explain.

_What he did on the test was going to become an excellent material for the rumour mill for sure,_ Agnes sighed; even she couldn't deny how extraordinary that was. And if what she suspected turned out to be right, then Shirou was soon going to become a sort of celebrity amongst the commoners within the castle… no… maybe even the entire country if news travelled fast and spread widely enough. _And Brimir forbid, the maids are on an entirely different level when it comes to spreading juicy gossip and rumours…_

Sighing deeply once again, Agnes finally gave up the idea of sleeping early and got off her bed. Maybe a stroll through the courtyard would help clear the mess inside her head. Normally alcohol would be the better and quicker choice, but she wasn't one to rely on such a thing all the time - especially before, or during, her patrol shift.

"It's all bloody Emiya's fault if I don't get enough sleep," she grimaced.

_Nothing had been the same, or even normal ever since his arrival..._ With that in mind, Agnes stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her back.

* * *

_**Two days earlier...**_

"With all due respect, I'm afraid I can't accept what you've just ordered me to do, Your Highness," bowing deeply, Agnes said with a firm voice. Sitting in front of the guard captain, Henrietta was staring at her with widened eyes. It was completely understandable though, for Agnes to go against a direct order from her Princess was a rare occurrence.

After a while the Princess asked, "Why is that?"

"You're asking me to work together with someone whom I don't trust. That's not possible, Your Highness," Agnes replied solemnly. "We've been gathering information just like you instructed. But I can't share them with a complete stranger who has only been here for a couple of days with unknown motives."

Taking a side-glance, she caught sight of the person she was talking about. Shirou was also summoned to this private meeting. And from the start, the boy had just stood there while the Princess gave her orders and instructions. Now, however, he was looking at her with a blank expression. All the while appearing not to be affected by her distrusting words at all.

_Well, that's to be expected,_ Agnes thought with a mental shrug. _He must be as thick as a board to not know how I feel about him after everything._

"Agnes," Henrietta's voice pulled the guard captain out of her thoughts. "I assure you that Shirou has my utmost trust and confidence."

"Your Highness, may I speak my mind?" In return, Agnes only replied with a question of her own after taking a quick look at her Princess. She then continued after receiving permission.

"Forgive my rudeness, but I've been close to you and serving you for years. I'm quite certain that I'd realize it if you were not telling the truth."

From her seat, Henrietta blushed and stared at her after the statement. However, Agnes silently released a sigh of relief. It wouldn't be good if the Princess had truly trusted a suspicious newcomer who had taken her hostage, even if he was a summoned familiar. Of course, Agnes knew that Henrietta wasn't all that trusting despite her young age. But it still worried her sometimes. The Princess was too kind and gentle for her own good, especially during this dangerous time. Her father had just passed away and her position was now very unstable due to all the oppositions from her own Council. And then there was still the possible invasion that could happen anytime now...

The King was assassinated. Of that much Agnes was certain. And she was sure that Henrietta also shared the same suspicion. They had no proof to back up such a claim, but that was the only reasonable explanation. The King's excellent health aside, the timing of his death right after his decision to make major changes in order to prepare the country for a possible invasion was questionable. Not to mention the fact that the rebellion suddenly became stronger and more vicious right after his death, forcing back Albion's force (which was clearly winning before the tragedy).

Obviously, that left Agnes to believe that there were traitors within their ranks who had connections with the rebellion. It wasn't a small feat to sneak into the castle undetected and then assassinate a tightly guarded King after all. And whoever did it managed to make it look like his target simply died peacefully in his sleep, without leaving a single trace, while the Queen was sleeping right next to him. During her time serving the royal family, Agnes had never seen a more shocked and devastated look than the one reflected on Henrietta and Marianne's faces when the Queen woke up the following morning only to discover that her husband was dead.

Soon after, Henrietta was made the Crown Princess. That was a move that Agnes strongly disapproved of. But the sad truth was that her voice carried no weight at all. Of course, she totally understood Marianne's grief over the King's death. But wasn't it irresponsible of her to push the duty of ruling an entire crumbling kingdom on the shoulder of her own daughter, who happened to be only seventeen years of age?

"Your Highness," suddenly from her side, Shirou spoke up and yanked Agnes out of her train of thoughts. "I believe that the Captain is right..." He then received a surprised stare from both girls, but he ignored them and continued. "If you want us to work as a team, you have to let us build some trust first. I have prior experience with working in a group, and I can tell you that not trusting your partner can endanger the entire mission. For that matter, I also have to say that I don't know just what the Musketeer Corp is capable of... It's not that I don't trust them, but rather their skill is what I'm concerned about."

"Excuse me. We're the best trained division of this country besides the Griffin squadron," Agnes glared at him, feeling a bit insulted. How dare he question the quality of the troops that she herself selected and trained?

"And how exactly am I supposed to know that?" Shirou raised an eyebrow, unfazed by her fierce glare. "You don't trust my words about my sincerity, and yet you expect me to take yours without question?"

"That's because there's nothing to question," she grunted, placing her hand on her sword. "How about I show you right here and now?"

"Agnes!" Henrietta raised her voice, snapping the guard captain out of her anger.

Bashfully turning back to face the Princess, Agnes once again lowered her head and said, "My apologies, Your Highness, for getting out of line in your presence."

"You're forgiven," Henrietta nodded, but clearly wasn't happy about the situation if her frown was anything to go by. She then turned to her familiar.

"Shirou, I understand your concern. But the Musketeer squadron has been serving this country for a very long time, and their skill is not something I'd doubt. However," she quickly raised a hand before Shirou could retort. "I understand your point. And seeing you take such caution to ensure the success of this mission pleases me. As it is, I give you permission to join Agnes and her squadron in the information gathering run tonight. You are to only observe and do nothing else. I'm certain that it will give you a better understanding of their skill. Is that acceptable?"

After hesitating for a moment, Shirou accepted the proposal. Agnes had no objection either. After all, his statement from earlier still stung a bit. It was a chance to show the bastard just exactly what they were capable of. As long as he didn't get in the way, of course.

"And Agnes," the Princess turned to her. "I now see that my words alone aren't enough to convince you of Shirou's truthfulness. So instead of asking you to blindly trust him, I wish for you to give him a chance. Is this possible?"

After thinking hard for a moment, Agnes finally sighed. "May I ask why you insist on him joining us, Your Highness? Our squadron alone is enough to bring back whatever proof you need to bring down the corrupted nobles. We've never failed you before."

"Yes, and for that I'm very grateful," Henrietta smiled gently. "But I'm sure that Shirou's abilities are needed. You'll see for yourself once you witness him in action. We need to handle this as quietly and covertly as possible in order not to tip off our targets before we bust them. And I think you'll agree that some of your methods for bringing down protection wards before breaking in aren't exactly...quiet, are they?"

"You're right, Your Highness," Agnes agreed grudgingly. Henrietta was spot on. In order to bring down wards they would have to either attack them until they collapsed, or find the ward stones and destroy them with explosives. Neither of those methods could be considered 'quiet', not to mention time consuming. However...

"So you're saying that Emiya can do it better than us? Taking down the wards quietly, I mean," she asked, glancing at the auburn haired boy.

"I can, and much quicker too," Shirou confirmed with a nod. "Your Highness has already explained the wards to me. So if what I suspect is true, I can take them down without much concern."

"So you're not sure about it either?" Agnes rolled her eyes.

"Of course, how can I be sure if I know next to nothing about your magic system?"

"Then how are you going to do it?"

"I don't want to reveal that now," Shirou shook his head slowly. "I want to test it first. I'll tell you after the test."

"And you ask me why I don't trust you," Agnes grumbled, obviously annoyed. "How can I trust you if you keep withholding this kind of information from us?"

However, before the boy could open his mouth to answer, Henrietta replied for him, "Agnes, I ordered him to keep it a secret. And we will reveal it to you if it's a success. In fact, it was Shirou himself who suggested letting you know about it in the first place."

The guard captain's eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment before turning back to look at Shirou. She then sighed, resigning to the fact that further argument would lead her nowhere. She realized the firmness in Henrietta's voice, and she had gone against the Princess's orders enough for the day. "I understand, Your Highness. If that's what you wish, I'll obey."

"Very well," Henrietta nodded with a smile before turning to her familiar and said with a frown on her face. "Shirou, there's something else I want to inform you. In the meeting earlier, the Council has demanded that you to take part in a public test for the position of my personal guard."

Agnes's eyebrows rose as she quickly scanned the boy's face. To her surprise, he was still wearing that indifferent expression. His eyes only squinted for a second before he sighed, as if resigning to the unavoidable fate.

"You're not surprised?" Henrietta asked.

"A little," Shirou shrugged. "It's not unexpected though. I know I'm a unique case, but normally there should be some proper tests for these important positions."

"That's true," the Princess agreed. "However, I have no doubt that this time the test is nothing more than a scheme to make me look bad for summoning and choosing you."

"That's very likely," the boy nodded. "So what will I have to do?"

"A duel with a high ranking officer this afternoon in front of the whole Council. In fact, I'm pretty sure they will match you with Viscount Wardes..."

"He's the best knight in the whole country, captain of the Griffin squadron," Agnes explained before Shirou could ask.

"They're ensuring that you have no chance of winning, Emiya," she grunted, feeling her anger building up.

No matter how much she hated and distrusted the boy, it was still unfair to arrange a match like that. "Your Highness, I'm sure that you've realized what they're doing. A commoner can't win against Viscount Wardes."

"Sadly, there's not much I can do," Henrietta shook her head. "Imagine what will happen if I refuse? The Council, corrupted as it is, still carries enough weight in their voice. It would be too suspicious if I insist on Shirou being close to me without a proper test."

Agnes couldn't argue with that. Of course, with Shirou losing the duel, there might be a chance of him being separated from the Princess, which would ease her mind a little. However, such unfairness was unacceptable. Being as suspicious as he was the boy had done nothing to deserve being treated in such a way - with the exception of him taking the Princess hostage of course. To which Agnes didn't want to admit, but knew, that it could be nothing more than a misunderstanding. After all, it was her job to be suspicious of everything related to Henrietta.

"I have no choice in the matter, do I?" Next to her, Shirou sighed in resignation. "Fine, I'll take him on."

"But you can't win against..." Agnes started, only to be interrupted.

"We won't know until I try, will we?" He said. "I don't think a proud knight such as himself would use his magic against a commoner. And if it comes down to pure sword skill, I'm quite confident in mine. If I can't win, I can at least show the Council that I'm not a weak random commoner chosen by Your Highness for whatever obscure reason."

"Like they would see it that way," she snorted sarcastically.

In return, Shirou just shrugged without saying anything. It was only then Agnes noticed that Henrietta was watching their exchange with clear amusement.

However, the Princess only gave them a knowing smile before saying, "It's settled then. The duel will be at the courtyard after the afternoon meeting. I'll see you there, Shirou. And you may come and watch as well, Agnes."

Agnes accepted the invitation. It was a good chance to see just how good the mysterious Shirou really was. After that, Henrietta concluded the meeting. The Princess and Shirou went back to their respective rooms while Agnes resumed her patrol around the castle, pondering about what she had just been told.

* * *

Upon returning to his room, Shirou closed the door and approached his bed. He then reached under the sheet and pulled out a traced version of Caliburn that he had made the previous night, after the meeting with Agnes in the courtyard.

Placing it on his bed, Shirou then applied a quick 'Structure Analysis' on the sword. And the result brought a grin onto his face.

_My suspicion is spot on,_ he thought with glee.

The idea had formed in his head the previous night, while practicing his magecraft. It was clear that he had been summoned into another world, and that had made Shirou wonder if Gaia was present here. If she was, then how strong was her presence here?

With that in mind, he had tried tracing Caliburn and simply left it under the sheet. Shirou was astonished with the quality of his 'Tracing' though. Back in his home world he could create near perfect copies of weapons, with only a single decrease in rank for Noble Phantasms.

This time however, after a quick scan over the sword he concluded that it was no different from the original one wielded by Saber. That by itself had already confirmed that Gaia's presence was at least very weak here, perhaps even non-existent.

And today's result pleased Shirou even more, the scan showed that the quality of his Caliburn hadn't decreased at all. Shirou could hardly contain his excitement. Needless to say, it had only been half a day or so since the sword's creation. He would need more time to be completely sure that Gaia didn't exist in this world. But should it be true, countless possibilities would be open for him to further his study in magecraft. Not to mention that he now had a large supply of prana from his Master.

_Imagine being able to summon Unlimited Blade Works without having to maintain it constantly..._Shirou shivered a little at the thought. It would be a blast on the battlefield. That much was a given. But exactly how much prana would be drained from Henrietta if he were to manifest his greatest weapon? There was also still the matter of hiding his real strength. Something as flashy as a reality marble would bust him for sure. Obviously if they managed to strengthen Henrietta's position, then there would be a day when all the secrecy wouldn't be needed anymore. However, for the time being Shirou was content with finding a chance to test it out in secret. Using Unlimited Blade Works in a real battle could wait.

_Speaking of secrecy..._ He thought, remembering about the meeting they just had. Telling Agnes about him being able to use magic was a risky, but necessary move. Henrietta had made him swear to only reveal the secret if Shirou managed to bring down the wards with his method though. Shirou didn't mind. According to what the Princess had explained about wards and bounded fields of this world, he should be able to do so without much problem.

Shirou also wanted to gain Agnes's trust. She was loyal and trustworthy, if her actions were anything to judge by. If they were going to be partners, then she had all the rights to know about his abilities and potentials so that they could plan their missions accordingly.

"That girl sure is a surprise," Shirou snorted dryly.

Earlier, Agnes had actually defended him against the unfairness of the Tristain's Council. Or at least she was feeling angry on his behalf. He had made no mistake by assuming that their relationship had improved. However, her action had further proved that despite her stern attitude towards him, Agnes was a good person. Which was even more of a reason not to hide the truth from her once they started working together.

"Shirou, may I enter?" Henrietta's voice from the other side of the door interrupted his thoughts.

He then stood up and opened the door. The Princess was waiting outside together with a maid carrying a leather bag.

"You can leave it over there," Henrietta said, pointing at the tea table.

The maid quickly carried out her order and left the room, but not before subtly throwing Shirou a mischievous smirk. No doubt to remind him of the chase the previous day. He did nothing more than grimacing a little in reply though.

"The maids seem to like you," Henrietta commented with a hint of amusement after they had been left alone.

"What girl doesn't love her dress up doll?" Shirou answered sarcastically, making the Princess chuckled softly.

"It's all thanks to you, Your Highness."

"You're welcome. Some men would do anything to be that popular you know?"

Shirou just rolled his eyes without saying anything. With a bright smile, Henrietta finally dropped the subject.

She then proceeded to sit down beside the table and told him, "The materials for your outfit had arrived."

Shirou then checked the contents of the bag. Everything on the list he gave her was in it, plus some extra.

"Isn't this too much?" He asked. "I can make the outfit with my 'Alteration' spell, so there's no need for spares in case of a mistake."

"Well, you never told me how you were going to make it," Henrietta replied.

"Oh, that's right," Shirou scratched his head. "My apologies, Your Highness. May I start now? It only takes a few seconds after all."

After that, he placed the necessary materials on the table and applied 'Alteration' on them. Soon after, the materials started changing shape, snaking their way onto his body into a tight fitting black top and matching bottom with a similar design to Archer's armour, plus a pair of fingerless gloves. Shirou was careful enough to make this version long sleeved to hide the Familiar Runes on his arm, which shone whenever he used a spell.

"That was quick, and it fits you nicely too. Definitely better than the one you were wearing before," Henrietta stood up as he finished and walked around, checking out his new outfit. "It appears to be high quality as well. This can be compared to our best crafter's work..." She then pondered for a moment. "Can I make a suggestion though? How about adding a hood or something to cover your face with? Your facial features are very unique here. And I don't want anybody to see you out on a mission and recognize you as my personal guard. Especially when you're using magic, or magecraft."

"You have a point," Shirou replied after considering the idea for a moment. "I can add a hood and a mask. A hood alone should do the job though."

"It's up to you, as long as you don't let yourself get discovered."

"How about this then?" He asked, applying 'Alteration' on another piece of material, making it into a hood covering his hair and eyes.

"That should do it, yes," Henrietta nodded in approval after seeing the result. "No one will recognize you like this. But what if it falls off? And does it obstruct your vision?"

"It doesn't," Shirou shook his head. "And don't worry about it, Your Highness. I've made it so that it can't fall of easily unless it gets destroyed. I don't like wearing a mask, to be honest. In case the hood really gets destroyed, even with a mask on people would still recognize me by my hair anyway."

"That's true..." The Princess agreed. "Alright, let's move on then. Since we have some left over material here, how about making something else for you to wear within the castle? It isn't a good idea to walk around in the outfit that's supposed to be for your secret missions. Also, I'd like my personal guard to dress more... properly."

"Well, I can always alter this however I want though," Shirou shrugged, before tweaking the design of his outfit, making the hood and the sleeves disappear. He then altered the rest of the leftover material, making them into a deep red long coat. Pausing for a moment to observe his own work, Shirou then produced the Tristain's coat of arms and etched it onto the coat's back before nodding in satisfaction. Turning to look at himself in the mirror, he could almost see a version of EMIYA looking at him. Of course, Archer didn't use a coat but rather a holy shroud for the outer layer of his outfit, and his hair wasn't auburn like Shirou's.

"Very impressive, indeed," Henrietta smiled brightly after witnessing the progress. "Your power sure has a lot of use, doesn't it?"

"As long as I'm creative enough, Your Highness," he returned her smile. "So I take it this outfit has your approval?"

"I like it," she nodded. "Is your former one back home also like this? Or did you just think of this design by yourself?"

"I have some references," Shirou simply said. "And no, this one is different from what I have back home. I had to tweak it a little to cover the Familiar Runes. And of course, the hood is a new addition."

"I see. Great work, Shirou."

"Thank you," Shirou bowed a little at the compliment. "But I'm sure you're not here just for the outfit, Your Highness?"

With that question the smile quickly slipped of Henrietta's face, replaced by a solemn expression as she sighed. "You're right, Shirou. I also want to apologize for what happened this morning."

"You mean the duel with Viscount Wardes?" He raised an eyebrow. "I know you had no choice in the matter, Your Highness. You don't have to apologize for that. Besides, if the Council thinks he can beat me just because I can't use magic, they're in for a nasty surprise."

"I hope you're right, Shirou," the Princess smiled weakly. "But that's not all. I'm sorry for not trusting you too. It was just as Agnes said. And despite that I'm still giving you orders to act on my behalf. I feel like I'm just using you sometimes..." She bit her lower lip while avoiding Shirou's eyes.

"Forgive my rudeness, Your Highness," Shirou sighed after staring at her for a moment. "Sometimes you're too soft for the ruler of a kingdom on the verge of war. It's perfectly fine that you don't trust me completely. In fact, I'd be worried if you did. As you've already known, even though I'm your familiar, I'm not bound by the mind altering spell."

"Also, as a ruler, I think you need to be harder on yourself and your servants sometimes. Not abusing them, mind you. But a soft and indecisive leader won't be able to gain the trust of the people, especially in a time of war. And as for myself, please don't concern yourself with it. You might be using me, but it's done with my awareness and for the good of your country and people. That's a goal that I can approve of and wholeheartedly support. So as long as you stay firm on the track you're on, I have no complaints serving you as my Master and my Princess."

Henrietta's eyes widened at his words as she stared at him for several moments.

The Princess then blushed a little and replied with a smile. "Thank you, Shirou. That was very moving. You really know how to give speeches, don't you?"

"I was just speaking my mind, Your Highness," Shirou answered. "Please don't count on me to give speeches in the future or else you will be disappointed."

"We will have to see about that," Henrietta chuckled softly. She then stood up and slowly walked toward his bed. It was then Shirou realized that the Caliburn was still lying there in the open. It wasn't like he had any need to hide it from her though.

"This is a very beautiful sword. One of your creations, I guess?" Looking at the Caliburn, the Princess commented. "May I hold it? Does it have a name?"

"Please go ahead," Shirou said. "Its name is Caliburn. But you're right though. That's only a copy that I made. The original sword belongs to a very famous King back in my home world."

"Only a mere copy, you say?" Henrietta murmured, fidgeting with the sword in her hands. "I can sense a great deal of power radiating from it... This is a very powerful artefact. If this is only a copy, then I can't imagine how much power the original holds..."

"Actually, my copy's power is very close to the real thing. I take pride in my works, you know? Maybe you'll be able to witness its radiance someday."

"Maybe," she nodded. "So why are you leaving it here? Do you not intend to use it against Viscount Wardes this afternoon?"

"No, I'll use something else for the duel," Shirou shook his head. "I'm just experimenting something with it. And so far it's giving me positive results."

"Oh, really? What's it about?"

"Simply put, it's to see how long my creations can last in this world," he explained. "Back in my world there's a being called Gaia, or the Will of the World. Within her presence, our prana can't exist for long outside of the caster's body. If I were still back there, I would have to constantly supply that sword with my prana to maintain its existence."

"You make it sound like that isn't the case here," Henrietta inquired with transparent interest.

"I can't be sure. But it's very likely that there isn't a Gaia here," Shirou nodded. "I made Caliburn last night and haven't supplied it with any prana ever since. But its condition is still perfect."

"You might be right about that," said the Princess as she placed the sword back onto the bed. "I've studied magic since I was a child. But there's been no mention of 'Gaia'. It may go by another name, of course. But as far as I know, our magical power doesn't disappear, even if it's outside of our bodies."

"I see. If that's true then it would be great. We will be able to save a lot of prana that way. But I still want to keep this experiment for a few more days just to be sure."

"Indeed. It never hurts to be careful," Henrietta smiled. "It's almost lunch time now. Can you please escort me to the dining hall? It wouldn't do to leave mother waiting. And I still have the afternoon meeting to attend."

"Of course, Your Highness. Just a moment..." Shirou then quickly went over and put the Caliburn back under the sheet before following his Master out of the room.

_And I still have a duel to prepare for,_ he thought.

In truth, Shirou wasn't too worried about the upcoming test. That didn't mean he wouldn't do his best though, since Henrietta's reputation was on the table. If he failed, the aftermath wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

That afternoon, Shirou was quietly enjoying a cup of tea inside his room when Agnes arrived to inform him that it was the appointed time for his test. Quickly getting up and grabbing Kanshou and Bakuya, which he had traced beforehand and wrapped inside a layer of cloth, Shirou strapped them onto his back and followed the guard captain to the courtyard.

On the way, he had tried to strike a conversation several times. But for some reason, Agnes didn't look like she was in the mood for talking, which surprised Shirou a little, given how the girl had always let him know what she was thinking, especially when it concerned him. In the end, he just shrugged it off. Maybe it wasn't such a big deal. He still had a duel to focus on after all.

As they arrived at the destination Shirou said goodbye to her before walking toward the centre of the courtyard, and to his further surprise, Agnes stopped him before saying.

"Good luck out there," she said, much to his confusion. "I don't like you, but I can't stand the underhanded methods they are using to discredit the Princess. So for once, I'll trust your...confidence, as you stated."

"Wow..." Shirou murmured while staring at her with widened eyes. After a while, he grinned widely. "Thank you, Captain. I'll try my best not to disappoint you."

In return, Agnes glared sharply at him. "Maybe it would be better if you lost and got sent away after all," she said. "But there's still Your Highness's position to consider, so I won't forgive you if you embarrass her. Got it, Emiya?"

"Loud and clear," Shirou replied. Still grinning as Agnes turned around and returned to her position beside Henrietta, who was now eyeing him with concern. With a firm nod to reassure the Princess, Shirou then made his way toward where his opponent was waiting.

Viscount Wardes was a man in his late twenties with long white hair. Shirou realized that he had caught glimpses of the man several times inside the castle, though he hadn't known his name. Everything about the Viscount definitely said 'Noble', from the way he stood and walked, to how he looked at Shirou himself. Shirou could see the question in his eyes, wondering just why he had to be the opponent of a commoner. Wardes was looking down on him, but there was also a hint of curiosity hidden behind the indifferent mask he was wearing.

"You certainly look more like a guard now than the last time I saw you," the man said as Shirou stood in front of him. Taking a quick glance around, Shirou could see that besides the Council, there were also many others present to witness his duel as well. Most of them were Nobles though, except for a few guards from the Musketeer and Griffin squadron, and a couple of maids. People immediately started whispering the moment he stepped inside the courtyard. However, he paid them no mind.

"Thank you for the compliment, Viscount," Shirou bowed politely. "I figured that since my opponent is a royal knight, I should not appear to be disrespectful by wearing improper outfit."

"Oh..." Wardes raised an eyebrow. "Very well, are you ready then? We shouldn't waste too much time for this."

_Cheeky, aren't you?_ Shirou silently mocked as he raised both of his arms to grab the twin blades' handles. In front of him, his opponent was doing the same. "As ever. I'm ready when you are."

The two of them then drew their weapons while carefully eyeing each other. And just a moment later, Henrietta gave the signal. Without wasting any time, Shirou dashed ahead, intending to catch Wardes off guard with a flurry of strikes. He had the advantage when it came to attack speed after all.

* * *

Agnes was astonished. A feeling that was certainly shared by Henrietta, who was now sitting beside her. Not much was known about the boy named Shirou, but there was one thing for certain: He was good, very good, when it came to his swords.

_It seems like his confidence isn't baseless after all,_ she noted.

In the middle of the courtyard, Shirou was now pushing back Viscount Wardes – the best knight in Tristain. The boy had managed to throw his opponent off balance. The two blades in his hands keep striking without resting. Black and White steel danced in the air, without any wasted movement, not giving the defender a chance to counter. It spoke of serious and extensive training, not to mention the experience one needed to pull off such a relentless assault without making mistake.

For a moment, Agnes had hoped that Shirou actually had a chance to win the duel if the current situation kept up. After all, the best defense would have to fall facing such vicious attack, as long as the boy didn't mess up. However, her wish proved to be unable to come true just a few seconds later, as the Viscount suddenly sped up and regained his balance. With an insanely quick side step, he dodged Shirou's black sword as it made an arc up ward and started countering. Soon enough, Shirou had become the one who was put on the defensive against lightning quick thrusts from Wardes's sword.

_What now, Emiya? Your plan has failed,_ gritting her teeth; Agnes thought desperately, surprising herself to see that she was actually worrying about the auburn haired boy. _I hope he wasn't stupid enough to have only one course of action..._

* * *

"Sir Mazarin," Henrietta turned to her regent and said angrily. "It's clear that Viscount Wardes used a minor wind spell to increase his speed. It's unfair against a commoner."

"Indeed it is, Your Highness," Mazarin replied with a frown. Apparently, the regent himself was also displeased by how the event turned out. "However, the Council has decided that Viscount Wardes is allowed to use magic to aid him in this duel, seeing that his opponent was a high ranking guard you personally chose. If he can't face a little magic, then he's not qualified to protect you."

The Princess grimaced. Obviously she couldn't argue with that. All she could do now was to hope for the best. She knew that Wardes didn't have a good sense of magic like she did. So Shirou probably could reinforce himself a little bit without being busted to keep up with his opponent's enhanced speed. However, her familiar didn't know about that...

"Don't stress yourself too hard, Your Highness," next to her, Mazarin said, looking at her with concern. "Originally, Viscount Wardes had refused to use magic against a commoner opponent. But look at him now. Your familiar has pushed the best knight of Tristain into breaking his word. No matter how this duel turns out, I'll try to convince the Council that that boy is qualified enough to be your guard."

"Thank you, sir," Henrietta bowed politely, surprised by the action of the regent. This was the first time someone beside Agnes and her mother had openly showed support for her. "However, I don't think the other members will change their mind."

"It's worth a try, Your Highness," the man replied simply and returned to observe the fight.

Moved by Mazarin's words, Henrietta sat there and looked at the man for several seconds before turning her attention back to her familiar. No matter what he said, the chance of Shirou being accepted despite losing was extremely slim. If possible, Henrietta would like to avoid that scenario altogether.

_Don't lose, Shirou,_ she prayed earnestly. _I need your help, so don't lose now..._

* * *

Oblivious to the concern of Agnes and Henrietta, Shirou Emiya was in fact, bored. To the eyes of the audience, he might appear to be pushed back. However, none of Wardes's attacks could truly threaten him, not even a little bit.

His first plan to overwhelm his opponent with his twin blades' assault had failed, but only because the Viscount had used his magic to escape from the corner he had been boxed into. That by itself was enough to show whose pure sword skill was superior. It was true that right now, Wardes with his magical enchantments was faster than Shirou, who was still completely unreinforced. But compared to a certain blond swordswoman he knew, or even some of the high ranking Enforcers that Shirou had been given the chance to practice together with, the Viscount was still too slow. Not to mention his fighting style with Kanshou and Bakuya was specifically designed to fight against opponents that outclassed him.

In his mind Shirou knew that his opponent wasn't fighting at his full potential, and was still looking down on him by refusing to use his magic to the fullest. He wasn't bothered by it a bit, however. The Viscount was going to be in for a cruel awakening if he kept on fighting with that attitude. Despite that, Shirou himself was still holding back. He wanted to see what Wardes was going to do once he realized that all of his strikes weren't connecting and figured out Shirou's fighting style. A skilled swordsman would have no problem doing so after all.

_Just as I thought._

Subtly, Shirou grinned a few seconds later as Wardes' attacks started picking up speed. He could also sense the gradually increasing amount of prana that the Viscount was using. His thrusts were now more violent and much faster, but still were nothing Shirou couldn't handle.

There was more, he knew it. However, it looked like the Viscount had no intention of going at full strength. No offensive spell was used, and even the enchantment he used wasn't at its strongest state. By now, Shirou had gotten impatient and decided to end the match. There was no use prolonging it if his opponent didn't take him seriously.

Using Kanshou to parry the attack aimed at his head, Shirou made a wide upward swing with Bakuya in his other hand. The strike would surely sever his target in half if it connected. However, Wardes reacted in time to pull back his own sword and blast the white blade away, immediately following with another thrust at Shirou's heart. Apparently, he wasn't called the best knight for nothing.

Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, Kanshou once again intercepted his sword. Having already figured out the pattern, Wardes instantly ducked, avoiding Bakuya going for his head while launching another strike, to which Shirou dodged with a spin. He then used the momentum to bring Kanshou down onto his opponent, forcing him to leap backward to avoid getting sliced. With another spin, Shirou threw Bakuya as hard as he could toward the man. Of course, Wardes avoided it easily by leaning aside. Around them, snickers and mocking snorts could be heard. It seemed like the audience thought that Shirou had thrown his weapon in a desperate attempt.

_They're all in for a surprise then._

Shirou then gripped Kanshou with both hands and charged ahead. With just one sword his attack speed decreased, only to be compensated by strength. Each of his attack blasted away Wardes's sword. But he wasn't fast enough to strike again before the man could reapply his defense.

It didn't keep up for long though. After getting over the surprise, Wardes was able to start his own attacks, slipping them in between Shirou's strikes and gradually forcing him to go on the defensive, which was admittedly significantly harder with only one sword.

_Just a little more,_ gritting his teeth as he parried another thrust, Shirou then caught a glimpse of Bakuya coming back behind Wardes. Being an experienced royal knight, the Viscount took no time to notice that Shirou's line of sight was now directed behind him, and sensed the approaching danger. He spun around, just in time to see Bakuya heading straight toward his face. Hastily bringing up his sword to block and send the white blade away again, Wardes then realized his mistake.

Just a brief moment of distraction was enough for Shirou. He dashed forward, putting his entire body weight into a single strike. A moment later, Viscount Wardes found the hilt of Kanshou slammed into his stomach, knocking the air out of him. Shirou did not let his opponent have time to recover, instantly punched the man as hard as he could with his empty hand, bringing him down on his back. The boy then immediately mounted the fallen opponent, locking his two arms under his knees. Catching Bakuya, he used it together with Kanshou to form a scissor pressed against Wardes's neck.

"It's over, Viscount," he said softly, but firmly. Under him, Wardes's eyes were widened in shock. The man, after staring at him for a long moment, started to burst into laughter, breaking the dreading silence that had fallen over the audience at the sudden turn of event.

"Very good. Very good. I've underestimated you big time, familiar," he said loudly and continued laughing. "I concede. The victory is yours this time."

With that, Shirou gave him a curt nod and stood up, allowing the man to follow as well. The audience on the other hand, was still too shocked to be able to speak.

"I have to say I didn't expect that," Wardes grinned after sheathing his sword. "How did you make your sword come back like that?"

"These two blades are a pair," Shirou simply shrugged. "If I throw one, it will always come back to the other."

"Impressive," the man nodded. "Well, as I said, you won this round. But next time I won't hold back anymore, and we will see who the better swordsman is."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

After that, Shirou turned away and started walking back to Henrietta's position. The Princess was beaming inside her seat while standing next to her was a gobsmacked Agnes with widened eyes.

However, just as he started walking away an old mage from the audience, whom Shirou guessed was a Council member, stood up and said, "The match didn't count. That commoner cheated by using a magical artefact."

Frowning, Shirou turned his gaze toward the man.

"How was that cheating, sir? I used whatever was available for me to win the duel fair and square. And you can expect me to do the same when protecting Your Highness. Or are you saying that I shouldn't use the magical artefact that belongs to me, even if her life was in danger?"

"Insolent boy, who gives you the right to speak to a noble like that?" Another one stood up and growled at Shirou. Their drama, however, didn't affect him in the slightest. The only thing that made him feel sick a little was how they reminded him the unfair treatment of commoners.

However, before he was able to give any further remarks, Marianne rose from the seat next to Henrietta's and spoke.

"Members of the Royal Council, please be rational," she said solemnly. "If I remember correctly, you've allowed Viscount Wardes to use his magic – which in fact he did, because you wished for the Princess's familiar to face a situation where magic is involved. So why would he not be allowed to do all within his ability to emerge victorious? Magical artefact or not, you didn't specifically ban him from using them, and so he has not violated any rule. Your argument is invalid."

On the other side of the Princess another man, who appeared to be the regent, also stood up.

"You're correct, Madam Marianne," he took a deep bow toward the former Queen. "Not to mention Viscount Wardes himself has conceded the match. I hereby announce the victor of the duel: Princess Henrietta's familiar – Shirou Emiya. He can now resume his duty as Your Highness's personal guard. I hope you will do your best to fulfill your duty."

"That much is certain, sir," Shirou bowed deeply, surprised at the sight of someone from the Council speaking for him.

_Well, they can't all be corrupted. I guess there're still some people who support the Royal Family._

And that concluded the duel between him and Viscount Wardes. As the crowd started to disperse, Shirou and a still shocked Agnes started escorting a beaming Henrietta and her mother back to their quarters. On the way, he swore that he could hear the Princess humming softly while Agnes was throwing him confused glances, mixed with glares.

_Well, that's one problem solved,_ Shirou sighed. _Now I still have tonight's information gathering run with the Musketeer squadron to look forward to..._

_**To be continued...**_


	4. Taking actions (2)

_**Author's note: **_**Finally, an update, I'm sorry for the delay. At least this chapter is longer than the rest…**

**Well, just to clear something up, Shirou in this story wasn't in any relationship with any of the FSN girls. Also, this story started about a month prior to Saito's summoning. So be assured that some canon events and characters are going to appear soon in the future.**

**That's all for now. Enjoy!**

_**Beta by Euphonia.**_

* * *

"Are you ready, Shirou?" Henrietta asked as she observed him. The two of them were in his room where Shirou was preparing for the mission that he would go on with Agnes later.

"Just a sec," Shirou replied as he took off the red coat and applied 'Alteration' on the black suit underneath, tweaking its design and lengthening its sleeves before attaching the hood. He then turned to look at the Princess. "What do you think?"

"Perfect," Henrietta nodded happily.

"Alright then. But are you sure you can be here at this hour, Your Highness? It's quite late already. Funny rumours can start if certain people were to find out about this."

"Don't worry," she shook her head. "Besides you, only the two guards Agnes assigned know that I am here. I'll be careful on my way back. It's right next door after all," Henrietta then slowly approached him with a bright smile. "Also, I want to talk to you a little. I haven't got the chance to do so since the duel this afternoon."

"Oh...Okay. I still have a bit of time anyway," Shirou scratched his head a bit bashfully. He hadn't been able to truly notice with all the chaos that had followed since his summoning but right now, being in the same room with Henrietta so close to him, he realized that she was actually very pretty. Her silky smooth purple hair somehow reminded him of Sakura, and her bright eyes that were currently looking into his made his face heat up a little. However, it was her beautiful smile that captured his attention the most.

_No Shirou, don't even think about it,_ he quickly calmed down. No matter how pretty the girl in front of him was, she was still a royal Princess. It wasn't right for him to be attracted to her. Not to mention Henrietta already had a lover, who from what he heard, was perfect in every way. _And it __isn't__ the time to think about such things anyway. I've just got here and there are still many things I need to adjust…_

Above all, there was nothing to guarantee that Shirou was going to be here forever. Knowing Rin, she could be doing everything within her ability to look for him at this very moment. Then sooner or later her mentor – Zelretch would get wind of his disappearance. If anyone could pinpoint exactly what happened to him it would be that old bloodsucker. Who knew what would happen once he finally told Rin about it…

"What's wrong, Shirou?" It was Henrietta's voice that yanked Shirou out of his thoughts. "You looked a bit out of sorts there. If you're not feeling well, we can talk later."

"Oh no I'm fine. Don't worry, Your Highness," Shirou instantly waved his hand. "I was just thinking about someone back in my home world. She's surely worried sick and looking for me right now."

Shirou immediately came to regret his slip of tongue as Henrietta's smile vanished, replaced by a look of guilt. She bowed slightly and murmured.

"I'm sorry. It was I who pulled you here against your wish, and even made you my familiar..."

_I should watch what I say more in the future,_ he sighed before giving her a warm and reassuring smile.

"Please don't be like that. Even if I knew beforehand that I was going to be summoned by you and made your familiar, I still would have agreed to it once I knew whom you were. You are a good Master and Princess - a little inexperienced, but good nevertheless. I'm glad to be helping you. I just thought that it would have been better if I had said my goodbyes to my friends first, you know..."

"I see," Henrietta replied with a sad smile. "If there is anything I can do to make up for it, just let me know, okay?"

"I'll keep that in mind, Your Highness."

"Right. Can I ask you a question then? I'm sorry if it's rude and you don't have to answer if you don't want to," she asked and continued after receiving a nod from Shirou. "So…who is the girl you were thinking about? Your lover back in your home world?"

Staring at her for a second, Shirou snorted and waved his hand again. "Nothing like that. She's a close friend and my magecraft mentor. We had some history together and I'll admit to being attracted to her a little in the past, but that's not the case now. And in case you're wondering, I don't have a lover back home."

"Is that so?" Henrietta raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why? You're quite handsome, if I have to say, and clearly very strong in...erm… magecraft, from what I see."

"Our world is very different from here," Shirou shrugged. "Back there, magecraft, or anything supernatural, was to be kept hidden from the rest of the world. To say it in your terms, in my home world, the commoners make up the majority, and apparently we magi don't rule over them. We aren't even interested in ruling in the first place. Most of us, while considering themselves to be superior, only keep it to ourselves and instead study to gain knowledge. There are also some odd ones like myself, who focus more on the fighting aspect of magecraft and how to apply it on the battlefield rather than just studying for the sake of it."

"Does that make sense?" He continued after taking a short break. "In a world like that, a magus like myself is already an outsider. We have to keep our lifestyle a secret from the rest of the world. And it's not right to enter a relationship with someone while keeping something like that from that person. Also, as I've just said, even within our circle I'm still an odd one. That explains why I don't have a lover."

"That makes sense," Henrietta nodded with her gaze still fixated on him. "But why do you have to keep that secret? I mean, sure, you may keep it from the rest of the world, but if you're in a relationship with someone and you truly love that person..."

"It's not that simple," Shirou shook his head slowly. "You have to live there to be able to fully understand it. The normal people there, or the commoners, don't know that supernatural things exist. And because they don't know, they can't understand it and would panic if it were to be shown to them. We all fear the unknown after all."

"And in case, just in case I got to meet a person who was willing to accept it, I still couldn't bring myself to reveal it. Magecraft by itself is already dangerous - our very life style is dangerous. You saw it yourself the other day as well, Your Highness, what happen if we mess up our spells. We could easily kill ourselves if we're not careful. After all, the saying 'Being a magus is to walk with death' is there for a reason. That's too heavy of a burden for me to place on anyone who didn't already know it exists."

"That's… such a lonely and hard life..." Henrietta murmured and looked at Shirou with sadness in her eyes. "But you can still be careful with your experiments, right? So that you don't accidentally kill yourself..."

"I'm sure as a magic practitioner yourself, you know that no matter how careful you are there's still a chance that things will go wrong," he sighed heavily. "I really don't want to push what little luck I have. Also, there's another reason why I can't reveal the secret of magecraft to any commoner. The biggest one if I may say..."

"And that is…?"

"We magi, or at least the proper and traditional ones, value the secret very highly. And you should know that amongst us, morals aren't something to be regarded. If they ever got wind of the secret being leaked they would do anything to silence both the one who leaked it and the one who heard it, as well as every person related to them, even their pets, usually by killing all of them. Yes, they will go that far," Shirou sighed again, wondering why the conversation had strayed into such a heavy topic when it started out with a question about his love life. He didn't really mind telling Henrietta all this though. The better she understood him, the better they would work together.

"H...How brutal," Henrietta gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Is there a need to go that far for a secret?"

"I know, and I don't agree to it either," Shirou nodded. "However that's the reality. Often, the ones they send for the executions aren't ones who you want to mess with. They're all highly trained soldiers. Even I can't be sure if I could survive a fight with some of them."

Silence then fell upon the two of them, with Shirou waiting for the Princess to say something. Henrietta, on the other hand, just stared at him as if she was trying to find something deep in his eyes.

"But you're different, aren't you?" Finally, she asked. "You said you didn't agree to it, right?"

"Of course," Shirou replied firmly. "I hate unnecessary killing and would never do something like that. Heck, if something like that ever happened in my presence, I'd do my best to protect the commoners..."

With that, a gentle smile finally returned to Henrietta's face, making Shirou sigh in relief.

"You're a good person, Shirou. I'm glad to have you by my side."

"I also feel the same, Your Highness," he bowed politely at her words, making her smile grow even wider. Shirou couldn't help but once again admire her beauty before mentally smacking himself for having such thoughts.

"Well, looks like it's getting late. You should go now if you want to make it on time. Being late on your first mission won't make Agnes trust you."

"Right," nodding at her words Shirou then pulled the hood up, letting it cover his head and eyes. "I'll be going now, and I'll report back to you tomorrow morning. Goodnight, Your Highness."

"Hold on, Shirou," Henrietta suddenly called, making him turn back once more. "One more thing. Good job on the duel this afternoon. I can't thank you enough for participating and actually winning it. That's what I wanted to talk about originally. But since time's running out, I'll just leave it at that."

"I was just doing what I felt was right, Your Highness," Shirou bowed again and grinned. "I knew what was at stake so I couldn't allow myself to lose. Besides, it was a good chance to test my skill against a swordsman from this world. So it also benefited me in the end."

After saying goodbye and wishing Henrietta a goodnight one more time, Shirou turned and reinforced his body. He then leaped out of his room through the balcony and landed as quietly as possible. It was just like the Princess had said; being late wasn't going to paint him in any positive light at all. And so, Shirou quickly made his way toward the training field. According to Agnes, there was a secret entrance there that could lead him outside of the castle's wall. They would meet each other on the other side. All he had to do was to get past the patrols around the entrance, which shouldn't be very hard.

_Well, it's time to see how capable the Musketeer squadron actually is,_ Shirou thought. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit excited about the upcoming mission.

* * *

**The following morning**

Henrietta couldn't help but let a smile show on her face while her eyes ran through Agnes's report on the previous night. Needless to say, the Princess was satisfied by what she saw on the stack of papers she was holding.

The previous night's target was a mansion belonging to Count Gauvain, a low ranking member of Tristain's royal council. Henrietta had suspected the man of taking part in several minor black market deals and accepting bribes. To be honest, she thought Gauvain was an easy target. For all of his displays of wealth and boasting, he just didn't have the cunning or discretion his late father once possessed.

In other words, he was the perfect practice objective for Shirou and Agnes during their first co-op mission.

And that thought was proven to be true. Based on the report given to her, Gauvain's mansion only had one alarm ward to inform them of anyone entering his property without permission. There were also fifty commoner guards, divided into two shifts. All of them were under the command of five lesser Nobles, one of which was Gauvain's son. Henrietta didn't like thinking ill of other people, but she just couldn't see anything other than a spoiled child when she first saw him a couple of years back.

Obviously, there were also maids and other servants. But they all had their own quarters outside of the main building. Since the Princess intended to strike during the night, their presences wouldn't be a problem as they would all be asleep.

Henrietta was impressed even further when she saw the last three pages of the report. In there, Agnes had put together a roughly sketched layout of most parts of the main building, locations of the discovered Ward Stones and some other basic protections, as well as patrol patterns of the guards from 9 p.m until 5 a.m.

_She never fails to amaze me,_ the Princess shook her head and looked up at the two in front of her. Shirou was standing on the left and patiently waiting, while Agnes was glaring at him like he was an enemy.

Henrietta put down the report and said. "Good job, Agnes. You and your squadron are just as effective as always. So what do you think of last night, Shirou?" She turned to her newly reappointed personal guard.

"Everything is fine, Your Highness," Shirou answered calmly, but she could see that he was avoiding Agnes's gaze. "I was able to witness the Musketeers' abilities, as well as assess the protective ward surrounding the mansion. I'll be able to take it down temporarily without alerting anyone inside. But we will only have three minutes or so before it goes back up."

"That's good news," Henrietta sighed in relief. She then took a glance at the Musketeer Captain. "Then what can you tell me about the glare Agnes is shooting you with?"

"That's because..."

However, before he was able to answer, Agnes interrupted him.

"Because that idiot went against your order and went off by himself last night, Your Highness," she spat out furiously, pointing at Shirou. "You said clearly that he was only there to observe and to do nothing else, but as soon as I turned my back on him, he was gone the next second and didn't even bother to show up until we were ready to go back."

"And I've already explained that, haven't I?" Shirou held up his hands in defensive. "I needed to examine the ward myself. Your squadron did wonderfully. But I wanted to check again myself. I wasn't discovered by anyone. So it's all good, right?"

"No, it isn't," Agnes growled. "During those kinds of stakeouts, a leader's orders are absolute, can't you understand that? We didn't even have any means to contact you, nor did we know where you were. What if you were discovered? What if we were discovered or ambushed and needed to regroup and retreat quickly? I'm not fond of leaving anyone under my watch behind, even if that's you. It's not about what you want or what you need. It's about the benefits and safety of the whole team, understood?"

Breathing wildly, Agnes stopped speaking. Turning away angrily and shutting her eyes tightly, it was clear she was trying to calm down. After a few seconds, she turned to Henrietta.

"My deepest apologies, Your Highness. I let my anger overtake me for a moment."

"You're forgiven," Henrietta said in astonishment. She had always known that Agnes had a fierce temper, but she'd never seen her Captain display it in her presence. Shirou must have really got on her nerves to receive that kind of explosion. Turning to him, Henrietta could see he was taken aback. Since the first day Shirou arrived, he had always appeared calm and confident, even after taking her hostage or hearing about the duel with Tristain's best knight. Of course, there were exceptions. Henrietta had caught him blushing several times when they were alone and she was close to him. However, he had never treated her any differently or attempted anything improper. That was one of the reasons why she trusted him.

"Thank you, Agnes, for your effort," Henrietta finally said. Looking at her trusted captain, whose face was still flushed from her outburst, she suggested, "How about taking a little rest to calm yourself down? I'll talk to Shirou about his mistake in your place."

Taking a few more seconds to consider the offer, Agnes finally bowed.

"Thank you, Your Highness. That's probably what I need for now," she then made her way to the door. But just before stepping out, Agnes stopped and said without turning around.

"Remember what I said, Emiya. You let it happen again and I won't let you off the hook as easily."

Not waiting for an answer, she hastily walked out and closed the door behind her back. Henrietta looked at the place her subordinate just left with a soft smile.

* * *

"I screwed up, didn't I?" Shirou sighed heavily as he ran his fingers through his hair, glancing toward the door through which Agnes had just left.

"You did, royally, Shirou," Henrietta chuckled.

"You don't seem to be very bothered by it," he observed. "Your personal guard just botched his chance to gain the trust of your most trusted captain, you know?"

"You're really that dense, Shirou?" She teased, and continued after seeing his raised eyebrow. "If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much. Yes, what you did was wrong. But she also said that next time it wouldn't be as easy. So just be careful not to go against your leader's orders next time."

"So you're saying she gave me a second chance?"

"She did," Henrietta nodded. "That means she acknowledges your skills. But nevertheless, you mustn't repeat last night's mistake. Well, let's just keep this between the two of us. I'll tell you that once you get to know her, she may not be as hard, and you may have more leeway. But for now..."

"I understand. I'll tread carefully," Shirou nodded, looking toward the door again. He felt somewhat better after hearing what the Princess said and decided to follow her advice. However, as important as it was, that wasn't the immediate issue that he wanted to discuss. Turning back to Henrietta, he asked.

"So… What are we going to do now? I mean about Agnes. We did tell her that if my method of bringing the wards down was a success, then we would let her know who I really am..."

"I remember that," the Princess sighed. "That's now even harder considering how angry she was at you..."

"We can continue to keep the secret if you want. But Agnes won't forget about it and she's going to bring it up sooner or later. And to be honest, I don't like keeping it from her either if we're going to work together..." Shirou murmured loud enough for her to hear and started pacing back and forth unconsciously. Surprisingly enough, Henrietta didn't seem to mind, she just looked at him with an expression showing that she herself was also deep in thoughts.

"I don't like it either," after awhile, she shook her head. "It's okay. I will have a talk with her after this. You can go back to your quarters and get some more rest too, Shirou. You've had a long day yesterday. I'll see you later."

The two of them then went their separate ways. Henrietta headed down to the training field, presumably to look for Agnes, while Shirou returned to his room. He wasn't very tired despite only getting a few hours of sleep. However, there wasn't much to be done anyway. The previous afternoon, after the duel, Shirou went to the castle's kitchen and tried to convince the staff to let him help prepare the meal. Unfortunately, the news of him defeating one of the most powerful Nobles of the kingdom had reached their ears (unsurprisingly). In the end, much to his chagrin, they didn't only forbid him from cooking, but he was also treated like some sort of hero. The head chef even told Shirou that whenever he wanted to eat something, just come to the kitchen.

On the bright side, it wasn't a bad deal. But overall, Shirou still preferred cooking the dishes himself.

"Well, guess I shouldn't complain about their good will," scratching his head, Shirou pushed the door to his room and stepped inside. For now, he decided to just check on the traced Caliburn and work on his magecraft a bit. If he was right, Henrietta would come to him with a new task soon.

* * *

And he wasn't wrong. Right before lunch, Henrietta came knocking on his door. Even though he didn't plan on sleeping, Shirou still dozed off for a while. Hearing the knocks, he quickly stood up and stretched himself before going over to greet the visitor.

"Your Highness," he raised an eyebrow after seeing her. "I didn't expect you to come until much later."

"My apologies. Did I interrupt your sleep?" She asked, eyeing him concernedly. Shirou just shook his head in response. It was true that he was sleeping, but she didn't need to know that.

"That's good then," Henrietta beamed, and for a moment, Shirou thought that the lie was worth it before he ruthlessly squashed the thought. "I came over early because the talk with Agnes didn't take as long as I expected."

"How was it?" Shirou asked as he went over to the table and started preparing tea. Henrietta loved his tea, and by her recommendation her mother now did too.

"I don't know what to make of her reaction," Henrietta shook her head slowly as she came over and sat down. "I told her you're actually a rogue Noble, that's the simplest explanation. After confirming that I wasn't joking, she went all silent and excused herself after a few minutes."

"That's all?" He asked, not really believing it. "I thought she would have another explosion about how I lied to her. She respects you too much to lay blame on you, even partially."

"Well..." The Princess hesitated, avoiding his gaze.

"So there's more?"

"Yes...Actually… Agnes also said that it was best if you two weren't paired up for the same mission for awhile..." She stammered and looked at him with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry. I could have stopped her and ordered her to try. But given what she had just learned and how we both hid it from her from the start, I just didn't have the heart to…"

Shirou sighed heavily as he reassured her that it was all right and he didn't blame her. It was the truth. Even if he sometimes thought that Henrietta was a bit too soft to be a ruler, he would still agree with her decision in that particular situation.

Shirou knew there was a big chance of something like that happening. In this world, nobility carried a huge weight, even for a rogue Noble. To lie about that to someone you were supposed to work with was unacceptable for some, especially for one as straight forward and honourable as Agnes. Not to mention the girl in question had every reason not to trust him from the start.

"I guess that ends my chance as well," Shirou said sadly. He didn't want it to be that way. Agnes was the one Henrietta trusted the most, not to mention a good leader as well as a skilled fighter. It would be wonderful if the two of them could work together toward a common goal - to help the Princess. But he also knew that forcing Agnes to work with him, ignoring the wedge between them, was the perfect ingredient for disaster. It could actually bring about more harm than good. He would just have to do everything within his power and use what was available to make do for the time being.

"I think she just needs some time to adjust herself. It was a big revelation after all," Henrietta looked at him and tried to give him a reassuring smile. But the unsure look in her eyes betrayed her confidence. "I feel like I've failed her somehow..." She finished bitterly.

"I'm sure she doesn't think that way, Your Highness," He said with the gentlest tone he could manage. Shirou then poured Henrietta another cup of tea. He meant what he said though. Someone like Agnes would surely be able to understand why the Princess had hidden the information from her. The problem was that he couldn't determine whether or not she would recover from the shock and accept the fact that he was a 'Rogue Noble', or if this was the end of their bumpy companionship. Shirou saw no reason not to be prepared for the worst though.

"Thank you, Shirou," Henrietta said as she took the offered cup. "Perhaps you are right. I just wish it didn't have to come to this," she continued with a sad smile before sitting straight up, slipping back into the serious expression she usually wore during Council meetings. "I'll try to talk to her and hope for the best. But right now we need to keep advancing the plan since our time is already very tight as it is. Even if you two can't go on mission together, Agnes and her squad can still gather information while you execute the raids."

"No objections from me," Shirou shrugged. "I take it you've decided to take action against Gauvain?"

"Precisely. As soon as we have the needed evidence, he will be put on trial and set as an example. I'll have Agnes's detailed report sent to you within the day. Are you certain that you can take down the ward?"

"Just temporarily, but yes," he nodded. "I just need to overload one of the ward stones with my prana. But like I said, we will only have three minutes at most before it goes back up."

"Plenty of time to get past it," Henrietta smiled. "Very well, you can take tonight off and start tomorrow. And there's one last thing I want to discuss with you. Wait here, I'll be right back."

She then stood and left the room, leaving behind a slightly confused Shirou. Of course, there could be many things she wanted to discuss with him, but he couldn't think of anything that would require her to leave the room.

It didn't take long for Henrietta to return. However, this time she wasn't alone. Following her into the room were two other girls from the Musketeer squadron, judging by their uniform. They weren't older than him, and both had flowing blond hair tied up into ponytails and twinkling green eyes. In fact, they were the spitting image of each other, even the way they were trying to suppress a grin while keeping up a serious face in Henrietta's presence.

"Shirou," the Princess said as she saw his raised eyebrow at the newcomers. "These two are Caterine and Cecile Bastian, Musketeers. As you can see, they are twins."

Standing up from his seat and walking over to the girls, Shirou held out his hand, feeling even more confused and curious than before. "Nice to meet you. I'm Shirou Emiya. But you probably already know that," he muttered the last part under his breath.

After sharing a brief amused look, the twins then turned back to face him and both bowed in unison.

"I'm Caterine Bastian, Musketeer 2nd division, reporting for duty," the girl on the left said.

"Cecile Bastian, Musketeer 2nd division, reporting for duty," the other followed.

"Erm..." Shirou stammered before realizing that they had ignored his offered hand. Quickly retracting it, he looked at the Princess. "Reporting for duty? Why are they here, Your Highness?"

To his question, Henrietta once again sighed heavily. "I think I have to apologize to you once again, Shirou. I was careless when talking with Agnes, and these two overheard us."

"So they know I'm a..."

"Yes," she nodded in resignation. "Don't worry, they won't say a word to anyone. But they also offered to assist you in your missions when Agnes refused. That's why I brought them here. The decision is yours though. But personally I suggest accepting their help. You can never be prepared enough after all."

Shirou was taken aback for a moment. He certainly didn't expect his secret to be exposed to someone else this early. Taking a glance at the twins standing before him, they were both looking at him with expectant eyes. He was sure that Cecile even winked at him discreetly when Henrietta turned away.

"Alright, I guess it can't be helped. I could use a couple of lookouts when I'm inside..." Finally, he said, massaging his forehead. He could refuse their offer, but the time spent with Saber was enough for him to learn his lesson about how insulting it was to stop a soldier from going to battle, female or not. Besides, given the nature of their plan, it wasn't going to be very dangerous or life threatening. Just pop in and out silently and retrieve some necessary evidence. Also, Henrietta might be right. With his rotten luck, there was no telling if everything would go the way he wanted it to.

The twins beamed instantly at his words. They thanked him and bowed once again. Both of them were now wearing a big smile on their faces.

"That takes care of that then," Henrietta clapped her hands together, smiling. "We will now leave you to your rest, Shirou. Caterine and Cecile will return in the afternoon so you can revise your plan together. But before we go, here is one final message from Agnes."

"There's more?" Shirou asked, grimacing a little while wondering what else the Musketeer Captain would want with him.

"Well, yes…" Suddenly, Henrietta looked down at her feet and started fidgeting as her face flushed a little. "Agnes told me to remind you that these two are among the best in her squadron. And if you let anything happen to either of them...well..." She stopped and blushed even harder.

"Captain said that she would chop your balls off if anything happened to us. Her words, not ours," Caterine supplied with a wide grin, which was mirrored by her sister. Two faint pink spots could be seen on her cheeks. Henrietta nodded without saying anything. She was now speechless and looked quite red in the face. Shirou couldn't blame her though, as he also felt his face heat up a little. He also winced at the threat. He was under no illusion that Agnes wouldn't carry out what she said. It was even more amazing seeing how she said exactly that in front of Henrietta.

In the end, "Ouch!" was the only thing Shirou managed to say, earning him a round of laughter from the girls, even the blushing Princess herself. In the back of his mind, he had started wondering if he had made a mistake of accepting the twins.

"I'm sure you don't have to worry about it, Sir Emiya," Cecile said with a smirk. "Because we don't."

"After all, on our side..." Caterine continued.

"...we have the man who defeated Viscount Wardes," and Cecile finished.

"You will protect us, right?" They then chorused and looked up at Shirou mischievously. He, by that point, was staring at them with a confused but amused expression, all the while debating with himself whether he should laugh or be freaked out by the two in front of him.

_Why do I have the feeling that I'm going get into so much trouble with them around…?_ He silently lamented as Henrietta offered him an understanding smile.

* * *

"Alright, before we get to business. I'd like to ask you two something," Shirou said as he and the twins finished spreading Agnes's report and an enlarged copy of the layout of Gauvain's mansion on the desk inside his room.

"Please, go ahead," the girl on the left side of the table replied.

"Forgive me if it's rude..." He hesitated, but decided to follow through it anyway. "But can you please tell me again which one of you is Caterine and which is Cecile? I'm terribly sorry but I still can't tell the two of you apart."

The twins glanced at each other and started giggling. It was obvious that they held back a lot whenever Henrietta and maybe Agnes were around. But that wasn't the case with Shirou. When asked, they told him that even though he was a Noble, he wasn't like the others. They even pointed out that other Nobles would never let themselves get chased around by maids for hours. Not that Shirou minded though, as he would be even more uncomfortable if they had treated him with utter respect or something along those lines.

"Hmm… Which one is which? I wonder..." The one on the right started pondering, putting a finger on her lips. It was obvious that she was faking it though. "Well, if you truly want to know..."

"...I'm Cecile," they said in unison and looked at each other in feigned shock. Shirou instantly sighed and regretted that he had started the conversation.

"Hey, I'm Cecile. You're Caterine, remember?" The one on the right retorted.

"No way! You're Caterine."

"Girls, please," Shirou quickly interrupted before their antics advanced any further. "We have work to do here," he motioned toward all the documents on the desk.

"Tsk, you're no fun, Shirou. You should at least pretend to go along," the girl on the left pouted. Earlier, Shirou had told them both to call him by name instead of 'Sir Emiya'. Unsurprisingly, they both were too happy to comply.

"Well, then. I'm really Cecile," after a few seconds, the one on the right said.

"And I'm Caterine. I'm also the older one," her sister continued.

Looking at the grins on their face, somehow Shirou got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. They were probably messing with him again. To his defense, the two of them looked completely the same. There was no difference for him to spot at all; even the way they dressed and did their hair, which by now he held no doubts that they did it on purpose in order to mess with people's heads.

_Why did I accept their offer again?_ Shirou couldn't help but wonder. However, he decided to go along with them in the end, or else he would have to face another headache from hearing them talk.

"Right, so let us begin, okay?" He said. "I take it both of you have read Agnes's report yourselves?"

The twins nodded.

"Good. So let me add something that she didn't include. During our stakeout, the Musketeers team was able to discover two ward stones, as marked on the sketch. However, I was able to find three more by myself when I..."

"Ran off despite Her Highness's order?" Cecile asked with a smirk.

"Yes, that. I'm not recommending it by the way," Shirou replied, scratching his head. "Anyway, there they are," he pointed toward two spots near the mansion's left wing and one inside a small forest surrounding its back. "We will start here, the forest will give us enough cover to approach it without being seen. I'll need about thirty seconds to bring down the ward. After that we will have three minutes, which is plenty, to cross it before it powers back up. The same conditions apply when we need to come out."

"Good. Your plan is definitely safer than the one we came up with," Caterine said, marking the location of the newly discovered ward stones. "With only the two stones we knew about, there's the risk of us being spotted by the front entrance's guards, or the upper floors patrols when they pass the right wing's main corridor. Thirty seconds isn't much, but I'd like to minimize the risk where we can."

Cecile and Shirou nodded in agreement. The younger twin then asked.

"So at what time will we start? I think midnight is a good time. Not too late, but enough for Gauvain and the servants to be asleep."

"No objection there," Shirou agreed.

"Hold on a second," Caterine help up her hand. "I agree that after midnight is a good time. But look here," she pushed forward the patrolling schedule. "We will need to enter through the side gate if we follow Shirou's plan. There are two guards there, which shouldn't be hard to take out. But they change shift every two hours, and the first shift starts at 9, which means their shift will be from 11 p.m until 1 a.m..."

"I see..." Shirou pondered. "If we start at midnight, we will only have one hour to do everything before they change shifts and notice two unconscious guards. No, if the schedule is right, then we will be discovered even sooner. There will be a patrol group passing through that gate at about 12:40..."

"So it might be best to wait until 1 a.m. That will ensure us a full two hours to find what we need and retreat. Sounds good to me," Cecile nodded.

"There is a study on the second floor here," the older twin pointed to a marked area in the right wing. "I think getting there won't be a problem. And it won't take much time to thoroughly search that place. It's not that big. Our problem is here," she moved her finger to the empty space at the middle of the mansion. For obvious reasons, the Musketeers weren't able to figure out the layout of that area. "I think it would be best for at least one of us to go and scout that area. It wouldn't do to miss anything."

"I can do it," Shirou volunteered. "If you can give me about three minutes after we bypass the ward, I can get the exact layout of the entire mansion. I can't tell which room is which, but at least it wouldn't be searching in the dark and get lost."

"That will save us some time," Cecile agreed. "So we will search the study room while you scout the mansion's centre. That's a lot of work; there are five floors after all. To think Mister here was about to use us as lookouts for him while he went in alone..." She glared at Shirou in a good-natured manner. They had held that discussion when they were preparing for the meeting. Needless to say, Shirou was outnumbered by the twins and was forced to accept them coming with him.

"My mistake," he held up his hands in resignation. "So that's the plan? We will start at 1 a.m, get in and do everything we can, then meet up back at the ward stone's location at...say 2:45. That will allow us some time to retreat before the shift change."

"Sounds like a plan," Caterine smiled.

"Good enough for me," Cecile nodded. "I can ask Captain to lend us some short distance communication devices later."

"Thank you, that would be a big help," Shirou smiled at her. "But how exactly do those devices work?" He asked. From what he had seen of this world their technology level was quite low compared to Earth. So it was a surprise for him to hear that they managed to produce short distance communication devices.

"Some kind of runes etched to a pair of wristbands and earrings," she shrugged. "The details are not available for us commoners. But I do know that they are super expensive and extremely hard to make, so generally only the royal armies and some major Nobles have access to them, and even then they are still scarce. Make sure you handle them with care."

Shirou nodded as he shuddered slightly. He was already able to imagine a stern faced Agnes telling him she would make him pay if he broke one of those.

"Looks like our Captain has left an impression on him," Caterine grinned widely.

"Too true, my sister," Cecile nodded with a mirrored expression.

"She would leave an impression on almost anyone," Shirou shrugged as the twins laughed. "So, now that our business is over, anyone care for some tea?"

The two girls accepted his invitation without hesitation. By the time they left Shirou's room, he had already gained two more fans of his tea making skill.

* * *

**The following day's night. (Agnes couldn't sleep and was out for a walk around this time)**

At the agreed time, Shirou was already outside of the castle's wall, using the secret entrance in the training field. He didn't have to wait for long, as just a few seconds later the twins also arrived.

"Good evening, or should I say good night?" One of them said.

"It's up to you," Shirou smiled in reply. "So which one are you again?"

"It's Caterine," she answered. However, at the same time, her sister also said. "She's Cecile."

"Ladies, can we get serious for once?" Shirou groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

"Alright, alright," I'm Caterine. That's the truth," she grinned. "So let us go now. It's already midnight."

"Why didn't you wear your armour?" He asked. The two girls were now wearing some kind of fitting leather trousers and simple white-buttoned shirt, accompanied by a black cloak and hood. And it was right then that he spotted the first difference between those two. Much to his embarrassment, Shirou couldn't help but notice that both of them were actually quite well endowed. But Cecile's breasts were bigger than Caterine's, not by much, but enough for him to notice. Of course, the fact was concealed well enough by the Musketeer armour they usually wore. Feeling his face started to heat up, Shirou quickly averted his gaze.

"You really expected us to sneak around in metal armour?" Caterine raised an eyebrow, and Shirou quickly conceded her point. Unfortunately, his earlier action didn't go unnoticed by her younger sister.

"Caterine," she called the other, smirking mischievously. "It looks like Shirou has found a way to tell us apart."

"Oh..." It didn't take long for the girl to understand what her sister meant. Caterine then grinned at Shirou, whose face was now started burning. "Not bad, Shirou. You figured it out rather quickly, eh?"

"I… It wasn't on purpose, okay?" Shirou stuttered, still looking away.

"I'm sure it wasn't," Cecile chuckled. "But now that you've finished infiltrating our shirts. We still have a mansion to break in, don't you think?"

"But we don't mind, really," Caterine added with a sultry smile while battling her eyelids, making Shirou gulp audibly.

"Alright, that's enough," finally, Shirou said as he quickened his pace and stepped ahead of the giggling girls, slapping his burning cheeks with both hands. "I'm sorry for peeking at your chests, okay? Please forgive me already."

"Okay, but only for now," Cecile laughed happily at his discomfort as Shirou started to wonder, not for the first time, if he would survive the two of them.

After the embarrassing first conversation, Shirou started to recover. For the rest of the way, the three of them spent time to revising their plan carefully. None of them wanted anything to go wrong. They had all agreed that their target was an easy one, most likely one chosen by Henrietta to test their effectiveness, but no one complained. It was their first time working together, and it would be best if they weren't thrown into a difficult mission right at the beginning.

Shirou wasn't really surprised to learn that whenever the twins put aside their mischievousness, they were actually a formidable pair. He still hadn't got the chance to witness their combat skills, but from what he'd seen, they were both quick witted and had good heads for strategy. Besides they worked well together; almost like they could read each other's thoughts, making him wonder if all twins were like that.

_The two of them are definitely good allies to have,_ he concluded. Of course, that was only when they could hold back their teasing.

* * *

After roughly fifty minutes, the group found themselves looking up a five stories mansion, built with gray stones. A quick scan of the area showed that its back was currently empty. The outside torches were still lit, but the ones along the wall inside had already been extinguished. There was still some occasional light from the patrols when they passed the windows though.

Shirou's first impression of the mansion was it looked like a 'haunted house' that the students back on Earth usually sneaked in for the 'test of courage' game. However, for the twins, it might be a sight they got to see everyday.

It didn't take long for Shirou to locate their target ward stone. As soon as they approached it, Shirou projected two shovels and gave one to Caterine. After looking around to make sure that the area was clear, they started digging while Cecile was on the lookout, until they saw the stone buried deep into the earth. Immediately Shirou pressed his hand on its rune-covered surface and channeled his prana, making the runes glow.

"Wow..." Caterine mumbled.

"Wow indeed," her sister nodded.

Shirou could feel the ward going down. After about thirty seconds, just as he expected, it had completely disappeared - but only temporarily.

"It's down. We need to move, quickly," he motioned for the girls to follow him.

"I wonder why there aren't any Nobles who break wards that way," Caterine said as they made their way to the mansion.

"From what I understand, most Nobles here can't control raw prana like I do," Shirou answered. "They have to channel it through wands or staffs in order to make a spell work."

"That actually makes sense," Cecile agreed. "If everyone could do what Shirou just did, wards would be pretty pointless."

"That makes our Shirou quite a threat then," her sister commented. Despite the darkness surrounding them and the hood, he was still pretty sure that Caterine was grinning widely.

"Shush, you two. We're here. Give me a few minutes," he told the two before put his hand on the mansion wall and murmured 'Trace on'. After about four minutes and a half, he was able to register the mansion's complete layout inside his head. However, something unexpected came up.

"Damn it," he swore under his breath.

"What's wrong? It took longer than we expected. But it shouldn't affect our plan," Caterine asked.

"Not that," Shirou grimaced. "I've scanned the entire mansion. But the study on the right wing is locked with magic as well as a physical lock. From the magical signature I sensed, only a certain individual can open it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Gauvain himself."

"We can break the door..." Cecile suggested but her sister cut her off.

"Don't be stupid. It could alert the patrols inside the house," Caterine then turned to Shirou. "What about the mansion's centre?"

"I've got it mapped in my head," Shirou replied, biting his lower lip as his mind raced. "But it's a moot point now, since you two can't break the enchantment on the study's door. So we will switch roles. I'll head for the study and you two scout the centre. Too bad we don't have time for me to sketch the map for you, but with two of you, it shouldn't take too much time. Use the earrings to keep in contact and we should be fine."

The twins hesitated for a moment before nodding in unison. They then started running as silently as they could toward the forest for cover before circling around to reach the side gate, and halted once again when the two guards came into view. They were standing in front of the gate and one of them was letting out a huge yawn.

"I'm glad I'm not a normal guard. That looks boring," Cecilia mused.

"So am I," Shirou agreed as he traced a long black bow into his left hand. Just a couple of blunt arrows and the guards would be knocked unconscious. However, from his side, he felt Caterine hold back his arm.

"No, Shirou," she shook her head. "Let us handle those two."

"What? I can take them out myself..."

"No one says you cannot, Shirou," on his other side, Cecile's hand came rest upon his shoulder. "But we're working together here. Let us show off a little, eh? You've got your chances with the ward and the map, and later the door as well."

"Besides, it wouldn't do to have you think that we can't take care of ourselves, would it?" Caterine asked just as Shirou was about to retort.

"I've never thought like that about you two," he exclaimed.

"Then I see no harm in letting us take care of them, right?" She grinned. "We can spend the entire night here arguing that point if you want."

"Agh… Fine," finally, Shirou relented, but not before shooting each of them with a glare, not that it could be seen from under his hood anyway. "But be quick."

"Thank you, we will," Cecile smirked as she stood up. Shirou felt his face instantly heat up as she reached up to her shirt and popped open the two top buttons, revealing what Shirou was sure was a borderline inappropriate amount of cleavage. He couldn't help but stare for a brief moment before summoning enough will power to look away. Of course, he wasn't a high school boy anymore, and was no stranger to a woman's body. Still, he was feeling a bit guilty for comparing. Despite being a genius in magecraft, Rin had never been gifted in _that_ particular area.

"Watch and learn. It won't take long," the younger twin said with a playful wink. And before Shirou could stop her, Cecile had already left their hiding spot and walked toward the two guards, pistol behind her back and hidden by her shirt. Her sister had already moved into a good position to strike.

Left alone, Shirou sighed heavily and tightened his grip around the bow, reinforcing both his sight and hearing, readying himself to provide support in case the twins' plan failed.

* * *

Twenty-five years old Aubert Halphen was dutifully standing guard at the side entrance of Gauvain's mansion. Not the ideal job, he knew very well. However, the pay was still well enough and the requirement was low. He had started the job around three months ago, and intended to quit as soon as his father recovered from his illness. Frankly, Gauvain and his family treated the commoner servants only a little better than animals.

Looking to his right side, Aubert saw Denis Gilson letting out a huge yawn. He had never met the guy before coming to work at the mansion. However, they had hit it off rather nicely, mostly because their shifts were usually together. Denis was a decent guy with a sense of humour. But unlike Aubert, he actually wanted to seek a career in the military and had been training by himself at home. Aubert was sure that Denis was told no less than twenty times that if he wanted advancement, working for Gauvain was the wrong choice. But the guy just shrugged it off and said that it was the only place open for employment at the moment, which was partly true. For all he knew, the royal army was also recruiting a large number of soldiers, but they wouldn't accept an inexperienced man like Denis, and training would take too long while the guy couldn't afford to leave his five years old daughter home alone for months. His wife, unfortunately, had passed away three years ago due to a lethal disease.

"You can take a quick nap, you know. I can stand guard alone for a while. The ward will alert us if anything goes wrong anyway," Aubert told his fellow guard.

"It's okay. I just woke up," Denis waved his hand. "And don't be careless. I've heard that that thief Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt has been appearing in the area recently."

"So I've heard," Aubert snorted. "But really, think about it, my friend. If Fouquet really appears here, what can we do? You know the stories. We're just a couple of security dogs, not Her Highness's personal guard. I doubt that even that guy could take on a giant rock golem. What's his name again?"

"Shirou Emiya. Weird name, I know. Must be a foreigner. And I agree, a golem might be a bit overkill. Still, he defeated Tristain's best knight in a duel. That's something, you know," Denis's eyes shone brightly as he spoke of the newly appointed guard of the Princess. Aubert had no doubt that whoever that Shirou fellow was, Denis definitely looked up at him.

"Maybe, but I've heard rumours that Viscount went easy on him, not using magic and all," he shrugged.

"He _did_ use a little magic. I heard from my cousin who is a maid in the castle. She was one of the few maids who witnessed the fight," Denis argued. "But even so, how many commoners can stand against Viscount Wardes, let alone emerge victorious?"

"Well, if you put it like that," Aubert replied coolly, before noticing some movements through the corner of his eye. Instantly, he turned around, hand on the sword hilt at his side.

"Who's there?" He asked, raising his voice a little. Next to him, Denis was doing the same.

There was no answer. However, a couple of seconds later, a figure emerged from the forest ahead. Taking a few steps forward, Aubert realized that it was a female. She was dressed in tight leather trousers and a buttoned white shirt. There was also a hood over her head preventing him from seeing her face. And for some reason, her steps were unsteady, like she was drunk or something.

"Who are you?" Denis asked from his side. "How did you get past the ward?"

The girl still didn't answer, but continued to approach them slowly. But just as Aubert shared a worried glance with his partner, she finally lost her balance and fell on her knees. Without thinking, he rushed ahead and helped the girl get up. Denis was close behind.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Supporting the stranger with his arm, he looked down at her with concern. However, the position gave him a very nice view of her exposed cleavage. Aubert couldn't help but gulp audibly at the sight. There weren't many girls around here with assets like that. If anything, he could only think of one Dianne, a maid in the mansion. Unfortunately, they rarely met, since their positions weren't anywhere close to each other.

"Can you please...help me?" The girl in his arm whispered weakly. She was still shaking. Ignoring Denis's warning, Aubert continued to look at the girl, but it was hard to take his eyes off of her chest. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what made a girl wander outside at this hour, seeking for help. Was she robbed, or chased out of her house for some reason?

"It's alright, you've got us," he told her in a soft voice. "Now if you tell me what happened..."

Suddenly, before he was able to finish the question, an audible 'thud' and the sound of a body hitting the ground came from behind making Aubert whip his head around. But he could barely register the sight of Denis lying still and another hooded girl with the same attire with the one in his arm, before he felt the coldness of a pistol barrel pressed against his jaw.

"Stay still, don't scream, don't make any sudden moves, and you will live," the girl in his arm said coldly. Her finger put firmly against the gun's trigger. Her shakiness was gone. And Aubert didn't have to be a genius to figure out that he had been tricked, and was now being taken hostage.

"Please, don't kill me. I have a sick father at home," he pleaded. Cold sweat started pouring down his forehead as he cursed himself for being careless. "I'm just a mere guard. I don't know anything. If you let me go, I won't even report you either. Everybody here hates Gauvain, so..."

"Silence," the girl hissed. "Even a guard can be useful. I'll ask you a few questions. Answer truthfully and I'll consider letting you go back to your father."

"Okay...okay..." He whispered shakily. "But what of Denis?"

"Unconscious, not dead. His life now depends on your answer, got it?"

Aubert nodded gingerly, but stopped cold when he felt the barrel press against him even harder.

"What's your name?" The girl asked.

"A...Aubert Halphen..."

"Good, now remember that I know your name, and finding your address from it is very easy. Keep that in mind when answering my next questions. Have you ever been inside the mansion?"

"Yes… A couple of times. I was needed inside to..."

"No unnecessary details," the girl cut him off. "Are there any studies, vaults, or anything similar inside the main building?"

"Yes… There's a study on the second floor, right wing. But only Gauvain himself can enter that one. There's another on fourth floor, central building and a vault in the basement."

"How do you get to the basement?"

"First door on the left wing. I've never been down there so I don't know anything besides the vault."

"Where is the central building study's key?"

"I don't know," Aubert answered, but quickly added, as he felt it was best to be honest now. He certainly didn't expect to be in this situation when signed up for this job. Clearly the pay was nowhere near enough. "But it belongs to Gauvain's son, so its key might be in the brat's room. Third floor, third door of left wing."

"Good. That's enough for now," the girl nodded and Aubert let out a sigh of relief.

"So… I'm free to go now?" He asked.

"Yes, after you wake up though."

"Wha..." Before the rest of his question could leave his mouth he felt something hard strike the back of his head. And darkness quickly filled his vision.

Unknown to Aubert, from a distance away in the shadow of the forest, a third hooded figure lowered his long bow and let out a big sigh, while shaking his head in resignation.

* * *

"How was that?" Shirou heard Cecile ask in a playful murmur after they'd put away the unconscious bodies and regrouped in front of the side gate.

"Well done," he smiled. It was the truth. It'd taken the twins longer than him to take out the guards. But in exchange, they'd gained some precious information. "Though I doubt I'd be able to use anything from your act. Since, you know, I don't have your...erm...equipment. So I can't use that tactic."

"That's right. Now that you mention it," Caterine nodded sagely. "Well, don't be discouraged. I'm sure you'll find yourself useful again soon."

"Right. So what are we going to do now?" Shirou asked. "We have three targets."

"How did you know?" The older twin raised her eyebrow.

"I listened in with my magic. Now what?"

"Oh… That's a very useful ability you got there. I wish I had it too, so I could..." Cecile started. However, Shirou mercilessly interrupted.

"We're running out of time here."

"Right, sorry," she said, blushing a little. "Anyway, you stick to our original plan and head for Gauvain's study, since only you can get past the protection. I can pick locks, so..."

"Wait… you can pick locks?" Shirou asked in surprise.

"We both can, but I'm much better. Anyway, Caterine will go to the other study, as its lock will be easier to pick than a vault. We won't bother with its key since Aubert wasn't sure if it was in the son's room in the first place. Besides, I'm sure she doesn't want to sneak into a Noble's room while he's in there."

Both Shirou and Caterine nodded.

"That leaves me with the vault," she concluded.

"Be careful, we don't know what's down there," Caterine told her with a trace of worry in her voice.

"I will. If I sense any danger, I'll back out right away. Since I think what we need is in Gauvain's study, seeing how well protected that room is. But we need to make sure."

"Alright, but please be really careful, both of you," Shirou looked at the girls and they smiled back at him in assurance. "Let's meet up at the ward stone in… one hour and twenty five minutes."

After another round of nods, they silently entered the mansion using the key retrieved from one unconscious Denis Whatever-his-last-name-was.

* * *

After their group split up, Shirou started heading straight to his target. The route was easy enough to remember. Not that he could get lost anyway with his 'Structure Analysis'.

On his way, Shirou encountered a couple of patrolling groups, but they didn't spot him. The biggest obstacle turned out to be a maid, who was up late to clean the hallways. Time had passed away painfully slow as he waited for her to be finished with her job so he could move on, all the while wondering what he had done to the maid populace in general that they decided to make it hard for him, no matter where he was.

Finally, even if it'd taken much longer than he'd like, Shirou managed to reach Gauvain's study after fifteen minutes of navigating through dark hallways. He quickly scanned the door once again to make sure of the applied magic, before tracing a glowing dagger with zigzag pattern and scraped the lock with it. He then murmured.

"Rule Breaker."

A light glowing from the lock and a little bit of prana pulled from him later, Shirou could feel that there was no longer any magic on the lock. He placed his hand on it and applied a little 'Alteration', melting its inside. A few seconds later, the door swung open and he swiftly stepped in, closing it behind his back.

Once inside, Shirou looked around to take in his surroundings. His reinforced eyesight made it easier for him to see in the dark. He was in a decent sized, but surprisingly tidy room. On the left end of the room were a desk and a safe; while in front of him were several bookshelves with many drawers. He decided to go through them all.

Raising his left arm and using his right index finger to touch a specific rune on the wristband given to him earlier by Cecile, Shirou started to speak.

"It's me. I'm in Gauvain's study. How's it going?"

"Caterine here. I'm in," the older twin's voice came from the earring on his left ear. "This brat's 'study' is a mess. It'll take me awhile. But I'll try to find everything I can. Don't be too hopeful though."

"Alright, how about you, Cecile?"

For a moment, there was no answer. Shirou's stomach had started turning as he thought the girl had been busted. Luckily, her voice came after about a minutes.

"I'm here, sorry," she whispered hastily. "I couldn't answer because some guards were walking past my hiding spot. The vault is protected better than I thought."

"If it's too much, get out of there," Caterine said.

"No, it's okay. Looks like most of them are patrols. There are only two stationary guards. I can take them out. That will limit our time even further though," there was a rustled sound of paper before she spoke again. "According to the schedule, the next patrol will pass through here in an hour. So we have fifty-five minutes at best, instead of an hour and ten. Is that acceptable?"

"Fine by me," Shirou nodded, even though no one was there to see him. "How about you, Caterine?"

"Fine," Caterine said after a moment of hesitation. "But don't be reckless, sister."

"I won't," Cecile replied. "Well, got to go. See you guys later."

"Good luck," Shirou and Caterine said in unison. Everything then fell silent once again.

_Well, it's my turn…_ Shirou thought as he walked toward the desk. The drawers were locked, but it wasn't much of a problem. However, there wasn't anything useful inside. After spending fifteen minutes going through the documents, he put all of them back in and turned to the safe.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A big grin appeared on his face as he found several arms selling contracts from Gauvain to a man named Fabien Lacasse, a black market dealer. There were also several bags of gold coins inside the safe, which Shirou thought to be bribery money, but he had no evidence to back up his suspicion.

After using his projection to make a back up of the contracts and putting them back in the safe, Shirou closed it and put the original ones inside his pocket. He then turned to the drawers under the shelves but didn't find anything significant there aside from a couple of letters from who seemed to be Gauvain's secret mistress. He snickered before putting them away, save for one. It would be interesting to drop that one later, outside of the room, preferably near the maids' quarter. Shirou himself knew very well how effective and scary the maids' gossiping network was. Sooner or later, the letter was going to find its way into Madam Gauvain's hand.

He almost felt sorry for the poor Noble._ Almost…_

"I'm done here, girls," Shirou spoke into his wristband. "I've found what we came here for, plus a bonus. And we still have time to spare."

"I...can't...find...anything...in...this...mess!" Caterine's irritated voice came through. "This room is an absolute garbage bin. And apparently, the son wasn't very smart or talented when it came to magic, or anything for that matter. Eww… I've just came across a… oh by Brimir, no, you're better off not knowing."

"O...kay…?" Shirou replied hesitantly. "Cecile?"

"I...I'm here..." The younger twin's voice appeared to be shaky.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," after a moment, as if to calm herself down, Cecile answered again. "But you guys really need to see this."

"What do you mean?" Caterine asked, still a bit annoyed.

"I mean… Inside the vault. It's not a vault like we thought. It's..."

Unfortunately, Cecile wasn't able to finish explaining what was inside the vault, as a huge ripple of prana swept through the entire mansion, almost knocking Shirou off of his feet. Almost an instant later, the whole structure violently shook again as the part of the wall in front of Shirou was bust open. Through the newly made hole, a giant stone arm was reaching in, crushing everything under it. Out in the hallway, shouting could already be heard.

"Shirou, what just happened?" Cecile and Caterine's frantic voices yanked Shirou out of his trance.

Staring at the giant's arm in front of him, which was now slowly lifting and retracting out of the hole on the wall, Shirou couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Just my rotten luck, ladies," he murmured, answering the girls. "Just my rotten luck."

**End of Chapter 4.**

_**Author's note 2: **_**What do you think of the twins? This can be considered the first time I really use OCs in my stories, so it would be nice if I can have your opinions.**


	5. A Sudden Invitation

_**Author's note: **_**Update!**

**I'm sorry for the long delay, though to make it up I'll try to get chapter 6 out within the week. It's already half way done.**

**Also, as tempted as I was, and believe me, it was really, really hard for me not to turn this into a harem while writing the twins. But in the end, this is strictly Shirou x Henrietta fic. Maybe I'll consider the other option in my future stories…**

**That's all for now. Enjoy!.**

* * *

Henrietta was jolted awake from her fitful sleep in the middle of the night. Sitting upright on her bed, breathing wildly, she noticed that her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Quickly getting out of bed, Henrietta then stepped out to her balcony. She shivered slightly as the chilly wind of the night brushed against her skin under the thin white nightgown. One look at the direction of Shirou's room told her that he hadn't returned yet. If everything went according to their plan, they should be back in about half an hour.

If only that were the case.

Henrietta had been having an uneasy feeling ever since she was awakened by a strange sensation through the bond between them. The Princess was aware of it from the first day of their contract. But usually, it was only a slight pull in her magical energy whenever Shirou used a spell, so subtle that even someone as magic sensitive as her wouldn't be able to notice if she didn't consciously focus on the connection. This time though, she was able to feel it – an unusually strong pull – even in her sleep.

Taking a brief moment to look for an acceptable explanation, Henrietta concluded that either Shirou had used some kind of costly magecraft, or a very powerful spell had just been used near his location. Neither boded well for him and the twins.

"Shirou..." Henrietta murmured, clutching her hands tightly to her chest. Infiltrating Gauvain's mansion wasn't a difficult task, but the Princess wasn't so short sighted to be certain that nothing could go wrong. She had spent every moment of her free time the previous day thinking up of countermeasures for the scenario where Shirou's party was busted, or worse, captured. But despite her best efforts she came up blank. There was just no such way for her to get them out of trouble legally without damaging her own reputation in the progress. Not to mention that such a move could also cost Henrietta her people's support. It was an unwanted and dangerous thing to have during the current hard time of Tristain.

Henrietta needed no one to tell her that those three were putting themselves in danger just because of her order, especially Shirou, an outsider. Despite what her familiar claimed, somewhere in the Princess's mind there was still a lingering doubt that the mind control was affecting his current actions.

In her opinion, everything about him was all too easy to the degree that she had started to doubt it. It had only been a few days since Shirou was summoned, but he was already willing to give her his full support, dueling a high ranking officer for her sake (mostly), and breaking in a Noble's mansion on her order without actually knowing the target. Surely it couldn't be his true personality, could it?

_Nevertheless, if they were caught, it will still be on me,_ she slowly shook her head, feeling completely awake. It went without saying that if that happened, things would take a turn for the worse. It would worsen further if Henrietta were to save them or lessen their punishment somehow. She knew that she owed them that much for their service and loyalty, disregarding their own motives and the suspicion of mind control magic. But would she really be able to take such a step when it mattered, putting her servants' safety over her own political advantages?

The Princess knew she just had to do it if it was really called for. Unfortunately, it didn't stop her from dreading such a reality and worrying that she would have cold feet and back out when the time came.

_I'm thinking too much. Those three are very competent. They're going to make it. _Henrietta signed wearily as she shivered again. This time wasn't because of the cold air. If just an easy mission was enough to make her feel like this, she couldn't help but wonder how bad it would be in the future. The tasks were no doubt going to get harder and harder once word about corrupted Nobles' mansions were being raided got out. Would she get used to the whole thing and be able to sleep at night, or would it be like that every single time they went out on a raid?

A few minutes later, Henrietta finally decided that she would deal with it once it came. With a final glance toward the dark courtyard, she turned around and was about to step back into her room. That was when she caught a glimpse of a moving silhouette. An idea appeared in the Princess's mind as she recognized just who it was. After all, she could recognize that person anywhere.

Without wasting any more time, she went back inside and threw a coat over her shoulder, before ordering one of the two guards standing on the other side of the door to invite the Musketeer Captain to her room.

_Shirou could use some help, _thought Henrietta as she started changing into attire more suited for a meeting. After all, they wouldn't have to see each other. Just in case those three were indeed having some trouble, Agnes could create a distraction for them to escape.

_That's right, it's better be safe than sorry,_ Henrietta nodded to herself as she heard some light knocks on her chamber's door.

* * *

_"Shirou, what just happened?" Cecile and Caterine's frantic voices yanked Shirou out of his trance._

_Staring at the giant's arm in front of him, which was now slowly lifting and retracting out of the hole on the wall, Shirou couldn't help but smile bitterly._

_"Just my rotten luck, ladies," he murmured, answering the girls. "Just my rotten luck."_

* * *

"Hey, what do you mean by..." Caterine's annoyed voice came from the earring, but Shirou ignored her rant as he silently lamented about his incredibly bad luck. It didn't take him long though, the moment the giant arm completely disappeared through the hole he snapped back to his senses and pushed the rune on his wristband again.

"Caterine, Cecile, listen," he said, somewhat louder than intended since there were many people shouting in the background as more and more guards arrived, both on the other side of the door and down at the yard below. "Unless I'm wrong, it appears that we've chosen the same target on the same night as Fouquet, that thief that has been running around lately..."

Shirou was interrupted with two surprised gasps from the twins. He didn't know them well enough to predict what they would do in this situation, and was actually blaming himself for his carelessness of not having prepared for such a case where things went wrong. Nevertheless, he needed them to get back to the castle, bringing the evidence they gathered with them. He would be able to fend for himself, those two would have to use the opportunity when the attention was focused on Gauvain's study to escape, and if possible, call for some reinforcements. Shirou was currently entertaining himself with the idea of trying to stall Fouquet, and with any luck, they might be able to capture the infamous thief as well, further strengthening Henrietta's position.

_Heh, luck, who am I kidding? _Shaking his head, Shirou snorted dryly. Even if the twins escaped, it would take them almost an hour to get back to the castle, and about the same amount of time for them to return with backup, if there was any. _No, it would take too long. I can handle this Fouquet by myself and capture him. I'll think of an explanation later. If he proves to be too much, I can always retreat._

With a set course of action in mind, Shirou turned his attention back to the twins, while re-locking the door and applying 'Reinforcement' on it and the wall between him and the hallway. That should keep the guards on that side off of his back for a while.

"Okay, listen," he started again. "All the attention is on me and Fouquet now, you two take this chance and go back to the castle..."

"But what about you?" Cecile asked.

"Don't even think of staying here alone, Shirou," her sister added. Shirou couldn't see her face, but from the tone of her voice, he could imagine her standing in front of him with a frown, hands on her hip. The two of them might appear to be cause for a headache at first, but when needed, they could be serious as well.

"I appreciate it. But you two need to get the papers I found back to Her Highness immediately," he answered, walking over and glancing out of the nearest window. Outside, the guards were firing their pistols and rifles at the golem and Fouquet repeatedly but as expected, it did them no good. From behind, two big fireballs flew over their heads. Although the golem blocked them with its free hand, the hand was shattered in the process.  
To Shirou's surprise, Fouquet just snorted at the display. A second later, the destroyed hand was completely restored to its original state.

_Well, at least he's busy taunting the guards. That should buy me some time,_ Shirou thought after assessing the situation. He was still feeling a little uneasy since there were only two mages down at the courtyard and none on the other side of the door. The report had stated that there were five of them living in the mansion. However, he pushed the feeling to the back of his mind. There were more urgent things to do than trying to sense the other sources of prana within the mansion.

"We don't need both of us for that. I'll stay and..." Caterine said but was cut off by Shirou.

"Please. You need to look after each other. I'll be fine."

"But how can we get the papers if we can't get to where you are?"

"Just a moment," he hastily mumbled an answer before tracing his bow and a quiver strapped onto his back, containing a dozen of mundane arrows, three arrow-shaped Gae Dearg and a couple of Black Keys. Shirou grunted painfully as he felt his Magic Circuits burn him from inside. It took a huge toll on his body to trace the red lances since they were originally spears, not blades. It was worth it though, as the 'Crimson Rose of Exorcism' was one of the most suitable weapons when fighting against mages.

"Shirou?" The younger twin called again but Shirou ignored her. He was busy wrapping all of the evidence, save for a certain letter, with a projected cover and tied the package into an arrow. After a quick check to make sure that Fouquet was still playing with the guards and oblivious of his presence, Shirou reinforced his eyesight and looked into the forest, trying to search for an easy to find landmark.

Soon enough, his eyes came upon a wooden statue in a small clearing, not very far from the mansion, but far and deserted enough to ensure that no one would accidentally stumble across it, at least not during the night. He quickly drew his bow, aimed for the statue and released the arrow carrying the package. As he watched it fly, Shirou once again turned his attention toward his partners in crime.

"Cecile, Caterine," he called in a hushed tone. "I've sent the package containing the evidence away. You will find it at the wooden statue in a small clearing on the right side of the mansion. There should be a dirt path leading to it starting from the mansion entrance. With all the commotion here, no one is going to stop you from retrieving the package but you need to be quick..."

"I remember that statue," Caterine said. "We saw it during our stake out the other day."

"The one of a bard playing a harp, right?" Her sister asked.

"That's right," Shirou confirmed. "That will save us time. You two get moving, I can take care of myself. We will meet back at the castle."

"But..." The two girls' voices came in unison.

"No buts, I trusted you two with the guards at the gate, now it's your turn to trust me, no?"

"Only you would compare Fouquet with a common guard, Shirou," Cecile sighed.

"Please," Shirou replied firmly. There was a moment of silence between them, but in the end, Caterine said.

"Alright, we concede, but be careful. We would hate to lose you in our first mission together."

"That's right," Cecile chimed in. "Let's go sis. We will meet at the same gate we came in. Take care, Shirou. Make it back, and we might give you a _reward_," the teasing tone of her voice caused a slight blush to creep up Shirou's face despite him being in his 'serious' mode. However, it was quickly washed away by Caterine's next message.

"But if not," the older twin said with a playful, but no less threatening voice. "We will find you and… well, you will _not_ like the result."

"Got it, ma'am," Shirou murmured as he felt a shiver go down his spine.

"Good. Later, Shirou."

He sighed deeply as the connection went off. For a moment there he thought that it was actually Agnes on the other end. Quickly shaking his head, he rid himself of the images of what they would do to him if he dared to get himself captured. Shirou turned his attention back to the thief, who was now starting to get bored of taunting the guards and making his way into the room. It wasn't long until Fouquet realized that he wasn't alone and froze in his tracks. Shirou on the other hand, was silently observing the infamous thief.

"It's a surprise to meet a colleague here," Fouquet said after a few seconds of silence, making Shirou raise an eyebrow. That was definitely a woman's voice. It appeared that she wasn't a he after all.

"For all you know, I could be a guard," Shirou replied, still not taking his eyes off of the thief while trying to find where her wand was hidden.

"Please, a guard? Dressing like that?" Fouquet snorted, and with a fluid movement, jumped down from the golem's hand. Shirou instantly tightened his grip on the bow, but she didn't make any threatening moves. Instead, she just went over to the locked door leading to the hallway and put her hand on it. On its other side, crashing and yelling noises could be heard as the guards were trying to break through.

"You did this?" She asked, examining the door. "Nice work, so you're a Noble too. Earth type, I suppose?"

Shirou didn't answer.

"Silent kind eh?" Fouquet snorted again as she went for the gold bags inside the safe, before making her way toward the selves and started picking out all the rings – magic rings to be exact if Shirou's sense wasn't deceiving him. "They aren't all that attractive, you know. Doesn't matter though, as long as you don't get in my way. I'll just mind my own business and get out of here."

"Yeah… About that," Shirou shrugged and raised his bow. "I'm afraid that I'll have to capture you. How about just following me and making this easier for both of us?"

Stunned silence met his question before Fouquet burst into laughter. She even had to use the desk to support herself.

"Capture me?" She asked while trying to regain her breath. "Don't joke around. It's not like you could do it in the first place. But why would you, a thief just like me, want to do that?"

"I'm not like you," Shirou growled in respond. The noises from the other side of the wall were getting louder and more chaotic for some reason, but he didn't have the time to give it any attention.

"You think so? You also broke in here in the middle of the night in that outfit, breaking drawers and safe locks. Brimir knows what you'd taken before my arrival."

"I'm not doing it for my own benefit," he retorted but the thief merely snickered back.

"And you expect to convince me with that? For all you know I'm also the same."

"Clearly we aren't going to convince each other here. So I'm sorry, Fouquet. If that's even your real name," said Shirou as he quickly fired off a Black Key toward Fouquet's shadow on the ground. To his surprise though, with unexpected speed she whipped out her wand hidden in her sleeve. In the blink of an eye a solid wall sprouted up between them and blocked the arrow. Shirou didn't wait for long to dive ahead, just in time to avoid a giant rock fist as it smashed the part of the wall next to his standing. Rolling on the floor while shielding himself from a rain of debris, he soon regained his footing and raised his bow again, this time with a Gae Dearg. His reinforced eyes were straining to look through all the dust and smoke caused by the golem's attack. Unfortunately, when the surrounding area was clear enough for Shirou to see he could only catch a glimpse of Fouquet dashing out of the hole in the wall on her golem's arm.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to fight you and I definitely don't want to get captured. May we never meet again," she turned around and laughed.

"Wait!" Shirou shouted. But before he was able to do anything else another strong ripple of magical energy swept through the entire mansion once again, this time knocking him to the ground. Quickly glancing up, Shirou saw that both his bow and the arrows (along with the quiver containing them) had already involuntarily dissolved. He tried to trace another one, but nothing came up. The prana followed his Circuits but disappeared as soon as it left his body. The reinforcement he used on himself, on the other hand, was still in effect.

_What in the world is happening? _A little panic slipped into his mind. But Shirou didn't have time to dwell on it for too long as a loud, horrified yelp broke him out of his confusion. He didn't even take a second to think it over before leaping toward the hole on the wall. He searched for a hooded figure and grabbed her arm just in time before the golem could disintegrate completely and send its owner falling. With a grunt, Shirou pulled her up into the room just before several bullets from the guards outside found their way toward them. He flattened himself against the dusty floor, littered with pieces of the destroyed wall, with Fouquet on top of him. Both were panting heavily. At some point during the rescue the thief's hood had slipped off of her head, revealing a pretty face and, much to Shirou's amusement, green hair. It wasn't a natural color where he came from, but he knew better than to question it here. He had other issues to worry about.

No matter how oblivious he was, Shirou was still a healthy twenty-one-year-old male, one who was painfully aware that he and a beautiful woman were in a compromising position. The fact that she was now staring deep into his eyes and their bodies were pressed together just served to make it...harder for him.

"Wait… You are..." Fouquet said breathlessly after a few seconds. Her eyes were still locked into his, and their faces were too dangerously close to each other's that Shirou could no longer hide behind any illusion that would disguise his features. And from what she said, it appeared that she knew exactly who he was as well.

_Just great, could it even get any better?_ Shirou sighed inwardly.

Just to answer his silent question: It could.

Apparently, Shirou had forgotten all about the study's door, which was now no longer being reinforced. He was soon reminded of it though, as just a moment later it was slammed open. Fouquet jumped to her feet, pulling up her hood and taking out a hidden dagger from within her robe. Shirou followed right after her, though he had no weapon. He also tried to trace his bow again but failed, as the effect of what was being used to cancel their spells was still lingering. With that said, Shirou still had his reinforced body and senses. Together with all of his training he wasn't completely helpless without his weapons. So he moved slightly in front of Fouquet and waited for the guards to come pouring in. It would be a little difficult to protect both of them, let alone escaping. It took just one look at the awkward way she was holding the dagger to easily tell that she couldn't use it to save her life. But he couldn't let Gauvain capture her either.

For a moment, Shirou had thought of jumping out of the hole while carrying Fouquet with him. But it was risky, there were enemy Nobles out there and he had no idea if their magic was also canceled or not. Also, in an open field it was easier for the guards to use their guns. Stray bullets were something he didn't need at the moment. With that in mind, Shirou chose to fight in this closed space. Reducing the chances of a gun being fired aside, he also knew for a fact that there weren't any Nobles on the other side of the door.

Now, if only he could disarm the first one coming through…

However, no one came in. They both stood still and waited until a scarily familiar voice asked in a quiet but obviously furious tone.

"Really? How you managed to get yourself into trouble while performing such a simple task is beyond me."

"I… Is that you? Ag… Agh," before Shirou could even finish his question, a shoe came flying and hit him square on the face.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing his nose while Fouquet looked between him and the door with astonishment. Shirou knew that the thief had recognized him, but it was still a stupid thing to do to say Agnes's name out loud in this place. "And for your information, it wasn't like I..."

"Save your explanation for later. Now let us get out of here first," growled Agnes as she stepped inside the room. She, just like Cecilia and Caterine, was now wearing the same outfit with a hood to cover her face. She tossed Shirou a sword and turned to Fouquet.

"And you."

"Y...Yes?" Fouquet was caught off guard when she heard herself being called. She sounded nervous, probably because her magic was disabled, and she had no way to defend herself.

"Drop that dagger," Agnes ordered coldly. "You're now under arrest."

"Fine..." After a few seconds, Fouquet finally sighed and threw the dagger away, before raising both of her hands over her head. "It wasn't like I had a choice anyway, seeing who he is..."

"And you got yourself busted too," Agnes gritted her teeth and glared at Shirou, who just shrugged in resignation. "Then you better not let her escape. We're getting out of here. Where are the others?"

"They went back with the goods a while ago," he said.

With a curt nod, Agnes turned away and started leading the other two out of the room. Once outside, Shirou noted that there were five unconscious bodies lying around, apparently Agnes's work. The Captain, on the other hand, bent down and lit up a small cord that led toward the right end of the hallway before running off in the other direction. Shirou and Fouquet followed her closely. About ten seconds later, a loud explosion resounded through the entire floor but the group didn't stop. They just kept running and were able to reach a staircase shortly.

"That should keep the guard busy on that side for a while," Agnes said as they descend the stair.

"Why are you here?" Shirou asked.

"I was asked to. It seems that even _she_ knows that you might get yourself into trouble."

"It's not my fault," he retorted with a frown. "How was I supposed to know that she..." he flicked his head toward Fouquet. "...was going to be here too."

"Hey! That's rude. Are you saying it's my fault?" the thief protested.

"Shut up! You can argue after getting out of this damned place," Agnes growled as she slightly pushed the mansion's side entrance door and peeked outside. "Clear. Let's make it to the forest as fast as you can."

She then swung the door open and they dashed outside. It seemed like Agnes's distraction worked after all, seeing there was not a single guard to stop them. It didn't take long for them to reach the forest's outskirts.

"Just a little more," Shirou said. "We will be out of the ward's boundary soon."

"Just… wait a second..." Fouquet said as she leaned against a tree, completely out of breath. "I've...never ran that much before."

"Tsk, Nobles..." Agnes clucked her tongue in annoyance as she came over and pulled the thief by her arm, making her let out a surprised yelp. "A little exercise will be good for you. And you will have plenty of time to rest in our prison."

"Hold on a second… I can't..." Fouquet struggled against the Captain's hold, trying to free herself without any result.

"Stop that, will you?" Agnes gritted her teeth. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can rest. Or do you want Gauvain's guards to get you? They could be here… Who's there?"

Both she and Shirou said the last part in unison. They only shared a brief surprised glance at each other before turning back to the source of the footsteps. Agnes unsheathed her sword with her free hand while Shirou raised his own while straining his eyes to find any sign of danger.

"Don't attack. It's just us," the familiar voice of Cecile came from behind a tree in the shadow.

"What?" Shirou raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"Step out into where we can see you," Agnes, on the other hand, ordered without lowering her arm.

"That voice… Isn't that..." This time, it was Caterine who spoke.

"Yes, she's here, sis," Cecile sighed.

"Well… Tell them I'm not here. I'm already back at the castle. Bye...Ack!" The older twin made a strangled noise at the end of her sentence as if someone had grabbed her by the collar just as she turned around, which was exactly what Shirou thought happened.

"Don't even think about ditching me."

"I'm not here."

"You are."

"Am not!"

_They couldn't be serious, even at a time like this._ Shirou sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Next to him, Fouquet had been listening to the conversation with apparent astonishment before letting out a small chuckle, which gradually turned into giggling as the bickering went on and on, until Agnes decided to put a stop to it.

"Stop that parade right now and step out," she scolded. The tone of her voice and the glare she gave the twins made them stop talking immediately. A second later, Cecile made her appearance, followed by her dejected looking twin sister. They still had their hoods on, of course. Luckily, Shirou had learned a way to tell them apart, at least when they weren't wearing their armour.

_All right, no more of that, I can tell which one is which and that's all good. The 'how' is not important, _he shook his head.

"What are you two doing here?" The Captain asked sternly as she eyed the twins. "Didn't he tell you to get back to the castle first?"

"Well we were going to," Caterine held up her hand defensively.

"But then we got spotted and chased by a Noble in the mansion. We managed to lose him though," Cecile added.

"That's right. It was around then that we felt it, like a huge wave of magic. So we figured something wasn't right and came back," the older twin nodded.

"I said I would be fine. Didn't I?" Shirou sighed.

"We know that now," Cecile pouted. "But we didn't then. What would you do if you were in our shoes?"

"I..." He opened his mouth but couldn't respond. He knew exactly what he would do, and because of that, Shirou wasn't exactly in a position to lecture them about it. It seemed like the younger twin had also come to the same conclusion from his hesitation, if the smug grin on her face was anything to go by.

"Enough," Luckily Agnes, intentionally or not, came to his rescue. "They said they were being chased by a Noble. There's a chance that he's still around here somewhere. Let's get out of here before anyone else show up."

She then yanked Fouquet's arm, making the thief stumble slightly before ordering the rest of the group to follow her. They walked together in silence for about five minutes and finally got out of the ward's boundary. Shirou once again tried to trace his bow and was glad to see that it worked. It seemed like whatever affected his traced equipment only worked within the ward. Next to him, Fouquet raised an eyebrow at the display, but chose to keep her mouth shut.

That was when it happened. Shirou was the first one to notice it. He sensed an unfamiliar prana signature emerge from inside the ward. But before anyone could react, the ground underneath them started to tremble violently, throwing them off their feet, all except for Fouquet. It was like the earthquake didn't affect her at all as she yanked her arm out of Agnes's grip and dashed toward the Noble.

"Hold on!" The Captain shouted but it did little good. Caterine pulled out her pistol and took a shot, which missed horribly due to her unstable footing. Shirou struggled to turn himself toward Fouquet, an arrow forming in his free hand. However, before he could aim, the stranger tossed her a wand. Fouquet turned back, a huge grin on her face.

"It was nice meeting all of you. And thank you for saving me back there, colleague. Too bad we will never see each other again," she said jovially and waved the wand, making a circular wall spring up around Shirou and his group. Just a few seconds later the ground stopped shaking and they could all stand up. Shirou didn't waste any more time and leaped over the wall, only to be greeted by a thick layer of dust that forced him to cover his mouth and nose with his hand. He squinted his eyes, trying to search for them. He knew it was too late though; their prana signatures had vanished, most likely because they'd gone back into the ward's boundary. He could give chase, but there was no guarantee that he would find them in there. Besides, Shirou also had to bring down the wall to free the three girls.

"Damn it!" He swore loudly and heaved a frustrated sigh before turning back to the circular wall behind. The dust had dispersed and he could breath normally again. Getting them out of there shouldn't prove to be a challenge either. He just had to be quick about it.

_At least the main objective was still accomplished, _thought Shirou, trying to cheer himself up.

* * *

"So… You got the evidence, almost got Fouquet, but she escaped in the end. And she, and possibly her accomplice, know who you are?" Henrietta summed up the entire story after hearing the report given to her the following morning.

"That's the gist of it," Shirou sighed dejectedly as he stood in front of the Princess together with Agnes and the twins, whom he couldn't tell apart once again as they had put on their armour.

His first mission turned out to be quite a disaster. Not only was his identity revealed to Fouquet, he also forgot to drop the letter of Gauvain's secret mistress for the maids to find. It was still in his pocket right now. The bright side was that they still managed to finish their main task.

"I understand," Henrietta closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She then looked at Shirou and gave him a tired smile. "I can't blame you. Fouquet showing up was something we couldn't have seen beforehand. For now though, we have to wait for reactions from her side. If she chooses to reveal your identity and your involvement in last night's raid to the public, it will be a huge problem that we have to deal with..."

"Hopefully she won't, but I wouldn't bet on it," Agnes said in annoyance. "How did she find out anyway?"

"When our magic got canceled, her golem shattered and I saved her from falling to the ground," Shirou shrugged. "When I pulled her back inside the room, our faces got too close."

"Tsk," the Captain clucked her tongue but didn't say anything else.

"But what exactly happened? I know that it has something to do with the magic wave we felt last night, but how did Shirou and Fouquet's magic get canceled?" Caterine mused out loud.

"I've been thinking about that," Henrietta answered from her seat. "It's a kind of ward, not exactly illegal, but only the military is allowed to use it in specific circumstances. It negates and nullifies all the magical energy outside of a mage's body within its boundary. Gauvain definitely doesn't have the permission to have one, let alone use it. It's another crime to add to his charge. Though it requires a rather large ward stone to power that kind of ward..."

"Ah!" Cecile exclaimed loudly before remembering that she was standing in front of the Princess. She quickly apologized as Agnes glared at her.

"My deepest apologies, Your Highness," she bowed hastily. "I only wanted to say that it was what I saw in Gauvain's vault, a big ward stone," she then looked at her sister and Shirou. "I was going to tell you guys, but Fouquet showed up and I forgot all about it."

They both nodded and sent her an understanding smile.

"It was partly my fault too. I sensed that when I was scanning the mansion, but thought it was just the centre pillar or something..." Shirou added. After knowing this, he thought that he'd figured out why there were only two Nobles during the fight with Fouquet. The rest of them, maybe with the exception of the thief's accomplice, were down at the basement to activate the ward stone. It seemed like Cecile and the Nobles had missed each other on their way - a lucky stroke.

"That explains it," Henrietta said. "Well done. You can go and get some more rest. Agnes, if you could please stay behind. We need to look through all the evidence and prepare for our presentation in front of the Council."

"Yes, Your Highness," Agnes replied.

"Your Highness, I can help..." Shirou said, but Henrietta stopped him.

"It's okay, Shirou. You've done so much for me last night already. You deserve some rest," she smiled softly, but the tone of her voice implied that her decision was final. Shirou gave her a final bow and retreated back to his quarters. Or not, maybe he could just go around the castle and see if he could be of any help. The head chef wouldn't let him cook for sure, so maybe he could visit the maids and help out with their chores.

* * *

It had been a week since Shirou's first mission. And even though Henrietta had been busy with Gauvain's case lately, she still spent some time picking out their new targets. The Musketeer Corp had been sent out every night to gather information, but Shirou himself wasn't given orders to accompany them. Frankly, he had gotten a little bored from being stuck in the castle for days. Thankfully the maids had finally relented to his insistence, and he was now allowed to help them with their work occasionally. They'd already been fond of him ever since the incident where he was chased around the castle. Now they were even more so because of his effectiveness in doing chores and his politeness, not to mention his skills as a handyman.

Shirou hoped that by improving his relationship with the maids in general, they would somehow spare him in his future missions. Another unexpected benefit was that, as it turned out, a maid working in the castle had an acquaintance that worked for Gauvain. The letter of the secret mistress had found its way into Madam Gauvain's hand in the end, making Shirou quite glad that he didn't dispose of it right after getting back.

That aside, there was still no word about Fouquet. It seemed like the thief had no intention of disclosing his secret either. Shirou guessed that he should thank her for it if they ever met again. Though he would have to arrest her afterward, making it quite an awkward reunion in his mind.

_Well, guess my luck wasn't so bad after all,_ he sighed and leaned back on the bench he was sitting on. It was still a while until lunchtime, and Shirou had already finished with all the chores given to him by the maids. So there he was, relaxing in the courtyard, trying not to worry too much about what the future had in store for him. After all, it was a nice day with gentle sunlight and wind. It would be a waste to just sit around and brood. With that in mind, he closed his eyes and let out a comfortable sigh before hearing a familiar voice.

"What's on your mind, Shirou?"

Shirou opened his eyes to see a smiling Henrietta looking at him. He quickly sprang up on his feet and bowed.

"Your Highness."

"Oh my," Henrietta laughed softly. "Just sit down. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh… Well, it's a fine day," Shirou shrugged and sat back down. To his surprise, the Princess followed him and took the seat next to his. She was smiling, but Shirou could see that she was tired. Not that she could help it with everything going on these days. However, it didn't stop him from feeling a little bad. Maybe he could do something more to help her. Unfortunately, in the Royal Council's eyes, he was still just a commoner, thus having no say in anything political related. His place right now was on the field, but he couldn't do that at the moment either.

"Are you alright?" Finally, he asked.

"Wha… Oh… I'm fine," she waved her hand. "Just a little exhausted. But I'll survive."

"I know you will," Shirou smiled encouragingly. "I just wish I could do more."

"Like I said, you've done plenty, Shirou. Without you we would never be able to catch Gauvain. His case is going well, by the way. The Council needs a little time to decide, but I think I...we, managed to convince them with all the evidence. The other corrupted Nobles looked quite shaken too."

"I bet they did," he laughed.

"It will make our job harder in the future though," Henrietta said, biting her lower lip. She looked kind of cute when doing that, though it wouldn't do for her to slip back into her work mode now.

"We will deal with it when the time comes. And I promise I won't muck it up again," said Shirou playfully.

"I'm sure you won't," the Princess smiled back. However, to his disappointment, she sighed heavily again. "I'm sorry. It's just...lately, I haven't been getting enough sleep. I just keep having...dreams, you know," she then turned to Shirou and looked at him. Her gaze somehow sent a chill down his spine.

"What kind of dreams?" He raised an eyebrow. Was she having nightmares or something?

"I'm not sure," she replied, still looking at him. "It's… well, never mind," finally, she turned away, shaking her head. "It's silly. Don't worry. I think it's just the stress."

"Are you sure?" Shirou asked. He could see that there was something Henrietta didn't want to tell him. Well, she was going to, but for some reason changed her mind. He knew better than to push for something like that though. If she wanted to tell him, she would do so on her own terms.

"Yes," Henrietta nodded. "Things were just piling up, you see. Fouquet, Gauvain, the Council, not to mention all the paperwork… And there's the rebellion..." She drooped her head and closed her eyes tiredly.

"You are worried about Prince Wales," it wasn't a question. Shirou looked at his Master. He could see her faintly blushing, but she didn't look up.

"Yes… No… I mean, yes, but that's not all," in the end, she answered. "The Reconquista, they are gaining ground for some unknown reason. We are doing all we can, but our army is still too weak and the Council is not stable. I… I shouldn't say this, but if Albion falls, there's no way our Kingdom will be able to defend itself."

For a moment, the girl sitting next to him looked so small and helpless as she said those words. Gone was the bright, proud and graceful Princess Shirou had seen from the first day he arrived in this world. He couldn't help but wonder just how long she had kept those thoughts bottled up. Just looking at her right now made him want to reach over and take her hand, or do anything to offer her some comfort, but he couldn't. Even if his intent was good, it was still inappropriate and it could harm her reputation badly if someone were to see them. After all, she was a Royal Princess and he was just a commoner - a familiar no less. It would just do more harm than good in the long run.

Instead, the two of them just sat side by side in silence, until Henrietta murmured under her breath.

"I miss Wales..."

Shirou didn't know if it was meant for him to hear or not, so he chose to keep his silence. He couldn't help but let out a sigh though. Once again the desire to just rush into Albion and haul the blond Prince's butt back to Tristain surged within him. But he quickly suppressed it. The idea itself was just selfish and stupid.

"Your Highness..." Finally, Shirou was about to say, but Henrietta stopped him.

"My apologies, Shirou," she looked up and this time, he saw that a smile had formed on her lips again. "It must be boring, hearing me rant about my problems like that."

"Oh no, not at all," he waved his hands." I'm here to help you after all. I'm your familiar. So your problems are also mine."

Henrietta just stared at him for a moment, and he thought she was going to retort for sure. But it wasn't the case when she spoke again.

"Thank you, Shirou," she gave him a bright smile. "I haven't talked to anyone that way for a long time. I am close to mother, but… I don't want to burden her anymore than she already is. Agnes, well, I trust her with my life. But can you imagine telling her all this sentimental stuff?"

They both chuckled at the image of how that conversation would go.

"You are different," Henrietta continued after they'd both calmed down. "Maybe it's because you're not from this world and don't follow our customs. You're still respectful toward me, of course. But I don't feel any pressure when we are together, like right now. It's refreshing. There's only one other person whom I can be like this around. She's my childhood friend. But she's a student at our Magic Academy now. And our social positions don't allow us to visit each other freely like we used to anymore…"

"Glad I could help. And maybe you should invite her here some day. I know it's not easy, and the way from here to Tristain Academy of Magic is not exactly a short one either, but if she truly is your friend, I'm sure she will come," Shirou grinned.

"Well, knowing her, she might think that it's a summoning order from me, not a friendly invitation. But I'll consider it. For now, maybe I should get back to work," said the Princess as she stood up, now looking a little better than before. "Oh, and Shirou. Don't you get bored, having to say inside the castle all the time?"

"Honestly, a little, since I'm not used to it," Shirou shrugged. "But I'll be fine. The castle is big and the maids are friendly. There is a lot of work to do around here."

"And here I thought you would have stayed away from the maids after last time," Henrietta laughed. "Seriously though, I don't think it's right to keep you by my side all the time. I give you my permission, you can go out to town once in awhile."

"But..."

"It's alright. I won't be alone. Agnes will be with me. Just tell me before you go. And you're going to live here for awhile anyway. It wouldn't do if you don't know the way around, right?"

"If you put it like that..." Shirou answered hesitantly. "You know… I've never seen you go outside either. Surely you've gone to town to relax sometimes too, right?"

"I can if I want to," Henrietta said. "Though I would be required to bring many bodyguards with me, and they follow me everywhere I go. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"

"That's too bad," Shirou grimaced, but then an idea suddenly popped up inside his head. "Your Highness..."

"Yes?"

"Well… This might be out of bounds. But would you like to accompany me tomorrow when I go out? Just the two of us, I'll be your bodyguard."

Right after those words had left his mouth, Shirou knew that he was going crazy. Just a moment ago he was afraid of people seeing him just holding her hand or something, and now he was asking her to go with him into town. But still…

Henrietta, on the other hand, just stared at him with a shocked expression. Understandable, seeing who she was; she must haven't got many invitations of that kind. After a few awkward seconds, she finally smiled.

"That is nice of you, Shirou. But I'm afraid I can't. My mother won't allow it. And more importantly, Agnes won't allow it."

"I just thought you could use some relaxing time too, you know. Overworking yourself is not good. If your mother and Agnes don't allow it, sneak out."

_Okay, now I'm officially crazy,_ thought Shirou as he felt the gaze of the Princess. _Am I seriously suggesting her to sneak out of her own castle?_

"Like you did with Agnes on your first stake out?" Henrietta chuckled.

"Yeah, that. And I repeat, I'm not proud of it."

"Well, that's great. And I'm really thankful, but during these times I can't just abandon my people and have fun by myself, even just for a day," she sighed deeply and shook her head.

"Not a day. You can attend the Council meeting in the morning and we can go in the afternoon."

"But the paperwork..."

"It can wait, Your Highness. You can work more effectively when you're relaxed and rested. And I'm sure that your people wouldn't want their Princess to be sick or stressed out."

Henrietta didn't reply right away. But from the look of it, she was interested and was now in a conflict with herself. They both stood there while Shirou looked at her pondering the option, her arms folded in front of her chest as a thoughtful expression showed on her face.

"And, you know, I'll need a guide too since I've never been out there. And who would better than the Princess herself? It will benefit both of us in the end," pushing his little luck one more time, Shirou offered.

"Alright."

"Pardon?"

"I said 'Alright'," Henrietta repeated with a smile. "As in 'I'll go with you' alright. I must be crazy. But I accept your invitation."

"Are you sure?" Shirou couldn't help but asked. He couldn't believe it. Did she really just agree to his insane offer?

"Yes," she replied with a thoughtful frown. "I'll need to make myself look different somehow. Maybe my hairstyle and a hood would work..."

"I can take care of that," Shirou nodded, still unable to believe what he had heard.

"I'll count on you then," She returned his nod before murmuring. "Oh… My mother and Agnes are going to be soooo mad at me..."

"Then we better make the trip worth all the scolding we're going to get. And that's only if we're busted," Shirou grinned. He added after seeing the look on his Master's face. "What? Do you really think I'm going to let you face them alone? I'm the one who asked you to go with me."

"No, I didn't think so. Just surprised, that's all," Henrietta chuckled before turning away. "Well then, see you later, Shirou. Now I have something to look forward to."

In return, Shirou just bowed deeply until she was gone, grinning widely all the while.

* * *

"Did you hear that, sis?" Behind the corner of a building in the courtyard, a voice asked.

"I totally did," another voice answered happily. "Can you believe it? Shirou just asked Her Highness to sneak out of the castle with him."

"You know what that means, right?"

"We're gonna have soooo much fun!"

"That we are, my sister."

The two of them then started giggling uncontrollably. The entire conversation of course, was a complete secret to the auburn haired boy who had just sat back down on the bench not far away. A victorious grin could still be seen on his face.

**End of Chapter 5.**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_** I'm sorry for the (super) long break from this story. Even this update came later than I intended. Originally, it was supposed to come out last month. However, it's finally here.**

**Also, the next chapter is half way done. Though don't expect rapid update like my other story, since this one needs to go through my beta as well.**

**Enjoy!**

_**Beta by Euphonia.**_

* * *

"Are you sure you have everything covered, Your Highness?" Asked Shirou as he watched Henrietta pull her hair into a ponytail. Today they would go into town together for some much needed relaxation. Right now, the two of them were in Henrietta's private study, making the last of their preparations.

"Yes, Shirou," Henrietta answered, her back still facing him as she looked at herself in the body length mirror. "I've instructed my secretary to deal with most of the paperwork, told my mother that I would spending the afternoon in here to prepare for our next move, and told Agnes that I am not to be disturbed, under any circumstance."

"And all of that went over smoothly?" Asked Shirou, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really. I'll have to double check the paperwork later. And I think Agnes gave me a suspicious look. But I know she won't go against a direct order," she sighed before turning back to look at him. A smile was now showing on her face. "So, how do I look?"

"Once you've changed as well, no one will be able to recognize you," Shirou grinned. "Still, we should add a hood just to be careful."

"I suppose we should," Henrietta nodded.

Around fifteen minutes later, they'd both switched into clothes that were more fitting to blend in with the people in town. Shirou changed in the study, while the Princess retreated into the bathroom. The two then stepped out to the balcony after making sure that no one could see them.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Your Highness?" Looking at his Master, Shirou asked.

"Really, Shirou, you are the one who asked me," said Henrietta. "And yes, I'm sure. We should get moving. Though... How are we going to get down from here?"

"About that…" Shirou hesitated, scratching his head. "...We jump down."

To his surprise, instead of thinking that it was a joke, or getting confused, the Princess just frowned as she started thinking out loud.

"I figured that's what we would have to do," she mumbled. "I guess you will be fine with your Reinforcement?"

Shirou nodded.

"I can take care of myself, probably," Henrietta continued, though Shirou could sense the uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"What do you mean by 'probably'?" He asked.

"If I were to jump," Henrietta said, taking a glance toward the ground two floors below them before quickly averting her gaze. "I can cast a wind spell to cushion my fall, but it has been a long time since I last cast it. Besides, it is a rather showy spell, which could give us away…"

"We wouldn't want that," Shirou grimaced, imagining what would happen if Agnes happened to catch them sneaking out.

"Yes," the Princess sighed. "Still, since there is no alternative…"

"Actually, there is," Shirou interjected. "I can just, you know… support you when we jump down."

"Support me?" Henrietta asked, her face puzzled.

"As in… I can hold on to you…" Shirou replied hesitantly while glancing at his Master's face. He could see traces of faint pink appear on her cheeks as she finally understood what he was trying to say.

"Ah, you are correct. I suppose that is also an option…" She mumbled bashfully.

"If you don't want to, we can take our time and think of another way. We don't have to go today," Shirou said quickly.

"No, it's okay," Henrietta shook her head. "Let's do it."

Shirou was about to ask if she was sure about it. However, the look that she was giving him gave him the answer he needed, so instead, he smiled and said.

"Of course, Your Highness."

The two of them then stood side by side before Shirou wrapped his arm around her waist, being careful not to apply too much force. He felt her body stiffen the moment their bodies made contact, but she gradually relaxed. Finally, Henrietta looked at Shirou and nodded, indicating that she was ready.

"Alright. Here we go," returning her nod, he then tightened his hold on her before the two of them leapt over the rails surrounding the balcony.

They landed a moment later. After making sure that Henrietta was able to stand steadily by herself, Shirou removed his arm around her waist. The two of them then started heading toward the western wall. There was a hidden door there that could lead them straight into town.

* * *

Henrietta was in a buoyant mood. The last couple of hours had been a new and enjoyable experience for her. The two of them had walked down the street side by side, browsing the shops inside the market district and tried a bite at Tristan's most famous bakery. Shirou had surprised Henrietta by insisting on paying for both of them with the pocket money that he'd been given. Afterwards, they took a stroll through the central park and had some lighthearted conversations on the way.

At first glance, these were just mundane things that everybody could do if they wanted. However, for Henrietta, being able to do so outside of the carriage without an entourage of guards behind her back was incredibly liberating.

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this free. Was it when the King was still alive? Or even further than that, back during the days she and Louise played around in the courtyard when they both were children? In all honesty, ever since she became the ruler of Tristain in place of her father, free time was a luxury apart from meals and tea time with her mother and a few secret dates with Wales. She had found herself mired in the constant meetings, paperwork, and a whole new lot of responsibilities. Even now, they were still lurking somewhere in the back of her mind, but at least she was enjoying herself at the moment.

These last few hours of freedom wouldn't have been possible without the boy next to her. He was an enigma yes, but also one of the better things that happened in her recent life. Up until now Henrietta still believed that she was crazy to accept his offer for a day out of the castle like this, so many things could go wrong. On the other hand, she supposed Shirou was right. She needed to let loose once in awhile and… get crazy.

"Something on your mind, Louise?"

Shirou's voice snapped Henrietta out of her thoughts. It took a few seconds for her mind to register that he was talking to her, even though she was the one who told him to call her Louise. Obviously she couldn't have him say 'Your Highness' or 'Henrietta' out loud when they were outside, and 'Louise' was one of the first names that popped up in her head so she just went with it. Shirou was a little puzzled when he heard it, but didn't question it.

"Just thinking about today," she smiled. "I still can't believe that we really did this."

"Oh… Is it not to your liking?" Shirou asked hesitantly.

"It's not like that. I'm having fun. Thank you," Henrietta said, and was happy to note that his expression seemed to be much more relaxed afterwards.

"I guess it's all good then," he laughed, scratching his cheek with his finger. "But should we find somewhere for you to take that hood off for awhile? It must be uncomfortable wearing it for hours."

Shirou was right. Despite the day's cool weather, Henrietta was still sweating from having her hood on almost the entire time they were outside. She didn't say anything because Shirou was also enduring the same.

"That's a good idea," she said. "Come, I know a tea shop down this road that has private rooms, or something like that…"

"Something like that?…"

"Because I've never been there myself," she blushed slightly as they started walking. It didn't take long to reach the shop. Although it was much smaller than what Henrietta had imagined, it was still a decent place with colourful decoration.

Just a few minutes later, the two of them were in a private room with a moderate sized window overlooking the town square. It was still early in the afternoon, and townspeople could be seen going back and forth, busying themselves with their own businesses. Everything mixed together, creating a lively atmosphere that Henrietta hadn't been able to witness since she was still a child playing inside the Valliere's territory.

Taking a look at the boy sitting across the table, she could see him looking out of the window with a smile on his face.

"Are you enjoying the scene, Shirou?" She asked. Hearing the question, Shirou turned to look at her and nodded.

"I am. Everything is so peaceful."

"Isn't it? Just looking at them makes it hard to believe that a war is approaching..." Henrietta smiled back at him sadly as they both turned their gaze down to the streets below.

"You shouldn't think too hard about it, Your…"

"Call me Louise, at least until we get back," she cut him off, then sighed. "Maybe you're right. Though it's hard not to think about it. If I want to preserve this scene and keep those people safe, then I can't pretend…"

Henrietta paused abruptly, then shook her head and looked at Shirou again.

"I'm sorry. You brought me out here to relax, not to talk about serious matters. Say, Shirou. Can you tell me something about your home world? You never said anything about it. Is it similar to this one?"

"Really? Must have slipped from my mind," Shirou chuckled. "My home world is more or less the same. The people there are similar to this world's, appearance wise. Although the scenery is different for the most part. Also, I assume that our populations are much larger. During the busy hours, there were a lot more people out on the streets than this."

"That must be quite a sight to see," Henrietta replied, trying to imagine putting more people into the already bursting roads.

"You get used to it. Afterwards it kind of becomes an annoyance sometimes. I lived in a rather small city during my childhood though, so I didn't have to face that problem as often. Really, you could barely move inside such crowds, and it makes it easier for thieves and such as well."

"I can see how that could be a problem. Still, I would like to see it some day."

"Maybe you will, who knows," Shirou smiled. Afterwards, the two of them drank their tea while talking about inconsequential topics. It was something Henrietta did everyday with her mother, but doing so with Shirou, at a place other than the Queen's room, somehow cheered her up more than she realized. Before they knew it, it was almost time for them to return to the castle.

"Am I feeling a little disappointed?" Wondered Henrietta as she stood outside of the tea shop.

Once again, Shirou had insisted on paying for both of them and was now talking with the clerk. The Princess's eyebrows rose slightly as she saw him purchase a couple of additional biscuit bags before following her out.

"What are those for?" She asked, looking at the bags in his hand.

"I just really like them," Shirou shrugged. Henrietta then looked at him questioningly for a few seconds, but decided not to push the issue. She said instead

"Thank you again, Shirou. This is the most fun that I've had for a while."

"I'm glad that you enjoyed it," Shirou said. He then hesitated before continuing. "Umm… Seeing as we still have a little time left. Can we go this way for a moment? There's a place that I wanted to visit but I didn't want to interrupt your trip."

"Of course," Henrietta said, looking at him curiously as she followed him down the street.

* * *

"A weapon shop?" Shirou heard the Princess's question as they looked at the wooden sign of a small shop inside an alley.

"Yes, Louise," he answered.

"Are you planning to buy yourself a sword or some other weapon?" Henrietta asked again. Shirou couldn't see her face, but he could guess what kind of expression she was wearing.

"Nothing of that sort," he laughed. "When we passed this alley earlier, I sensed an unusual prana source from this place. Some kind of magical sword, if I'm not wrong…"

"I'm not surprised," Henrietta said. "There are many magical and enchanted weapons around here. They aren't cheap, but aren't exactly a rare thing either."

"I know. I have been sensing those since the first day I arrived," Shirou shook his head. "This one is different. It's a sword, yet I can't grasp it. During my whole life, there have only been a few weapons that I haven't been able to comprehend… Let's just check it out."

With Henrietta's approval, the two of them entered the shop and were immediately greeted by a clerk with a polished business smile.

"Welcome, welcome. How may I be of service today?" He said with an overly sweet voice. No doubt noticing the high quality clothes that Shirou and Henrietta were wearing.

"Well, I'm looking for a sword…" Said Shirou distractedly as he started to look around, trying to find the exact source of the unusual prana.

"What kind of sword are you looking for, sir?" The clerk went around the counter and started to introduce his collection hanging on a wall. "These are enchanted blades from the most talented Germanian craftsmen. And if these aren't enough, we have even more valuable weapons in the back. Please wait a moment."

He then hurriedly retreat through a door behind the counter. Henrietta was busy giving the man an odd look, but Shirou didn't really pay attention. He'd found what he needed. It was buried somewhere between a bunch of rusty weapons inside a barrel in a dark corner of the shop.

"Are you sure it's in there, Shirou?" Asked Henrietta as she saw him digging through the content of the barrel.

"Yes," he answered, not looking up. "It's in here somewhere… I think… Ah… Here it is."

Finally, Shirou stood up and smiled, turning to the Princess with a rusty sword in his hand. Henrietta gave it a long look before saying. Her voice uncertain.

"Well… There is indeed some kind of magic coming out of it. But look at its state…"

"What are you saying about my 'state', little girl?" All of a sudden, a voice came from the sword, startling Henrietta and Shirou so much that he almost dropped it. After calming down, he looked at it again.

"You can talk," said Shirou.

"No," the sword replied immediately.

"But you're talking," he exclaimed.

"If you can see that, then why did you ask that pointless question?"

"I...uhm… I'm sorry?" Said Shirou. Immediately after that, he felt rather stupid to be apologizing to a sword of all things.

"Hmm...Never mind," said the sword after a moment of silence. There was no mistaking it, the sword was assessing him closely. "You aren't him."

"Pardon? I'm not who?"

"Gandalfr. My wielder," said the sword.

"Never heard of him," Shirou shook his head. However, from behind him came a shocked gasp. He then turned around to see a wide eyed Henrietta, who was covering her mouth with her hands.

"I...I know that word. In fact, everyone from around here knows that. Gandalfr isn't a name. That's a type of legendary familiar, the Left Hand of God. You… You're his sword? But the legend of Gandalfr has been dated back to the time of Founder Brimir…"

"That's the truth, believe it or not. But that doesn't matter anyway. Neither you or this boy is the one I'm waiting for."

"So… you're waiting for this… Gandalfr person, right?" Asked Shirou. "But it's been such a long time. There's no way…"

"Are you daft, kid?" The sword snorted. "You heard the girl. Gandalfr isn't a person. It's a type of familiar. There will be another one coming around eventually."

"But...That's a Void mage's familiar," Henrietta said, frowning. "There hasn't been a Void mage around for centuries. How long do you intend to wait…"

"It doesn't matter. I have all the time in this world."

"Well, if that's what he wants," Shirou said, scratching his head. "But do you want to come with us at least? I'm sure it's better than staying at the bottom of this barrel."

"That's a generous offer, kid. But no thanks. I prefer it here."

"But…" Henrietta was about to say something, but stopped as Shirou shook his head.

"It's okay, Louise. I can tell that's what he really wants. There must be a reason for that."

"Who knows," the sword laughed. "Name's Derfflinger, by the way. You're a special one, kid. You aren't Gandalfr, but still consciously sought me out in a place like this. You didn't even know anything about me. Tell me, what's your name?"

"I'm Shirou Emiya."

"Shirou Emiya… I'll remember that. I have a feeling that we will see each other again soon. Now, if you're so kind…"

"Of course, Derfflinger," Shirou nodded before carefully placing the sword back into its place in the barrel. He then turned back to look at Henrietta, who was still a little surprised at the whole thing.

"Well...That was strange…" Finally, she said.

"Indeed…" Shirou agreed. "A sentient sword...No wonder I couldn't comprehend it."

"Are you sure it's okay to leave him like that?" Henrietta asked, eyeing the barrel once again.

"I'm sure," said Shirou. "If he wanted to come with us, he would have agreed."

"Yes, I suppose," Henrietta sighed. "It's just… You don't get to see an artifact of that calibre everyday. Never mind, let's return for now."

"Should we tell the clerk first?" Shirou asked hesitantly, glancing at the door behind the counter. "I think he's still trying to find some more swords down there…"

"It's okay. It's not like we are going to buy anything…" Henrietta paused and looked at him before winking mischievously. "Besides, I really don't like his voice."

Shirou's eyes widened for a second at the sight, before a grin started to show on his face as he followed the Princess out of the shop as quietly as possible.

"You're right, Louise," he said. "Just hearing his voice once gave me goosebumps all over."

* * *

It was the day after their trip out of the castle, and Shirou was now sitting on a bench inside the Musketeer Corps' training field. He'd just finished his routine morning spar with several of their members. While he'd won all the matches ever since the day they started, Shirou was still burned out by the end every time. Everyone wanted to have a chance to go against the man who defeated Viscount Wardes after all. Fortunately, only twenty of them were chosen each day to get into the ring with Shirou.

After doing his share of sparring, he finally allowed himself a moment to rest and observed the others. Apparently, the current match was an exciting one between two of Agnes's Vice Captains. Even Shirou had to admit that considering they didn't have the aid of magic, those two were pretty skilled, and both of them were formidable in their own right.

Unfortunately, his vision of the duel was soon blocked by two identical figures that appeared out of nowhere. They stood in front of Shirou and stuck out their hands.

"So…" The one of the left said.

"...Fork it over, Shirou," continued the one on the right.

Looking up at the twins in front of him, Shirou couldn't help but sigh in resignation before reaching inside his pocket and retrieving the biscuit bags that he bought the previous day. The twins took them with large grins on their faces and sat down on both sides of him.

"Thanks," said the one on the right as she opened the bag and threw a piece inside her mouth, a look of pure bliss showed on her face as she chewed on it.

"Looks good. But I'm gonna save it for later," said the other one before looking at Shirou. "So, I take it the trip went well?"

"Extremely well. Thanks you two for keeping that entrance clear," Shirou said gratefully. "We almost didn't make it back when you told us to though. Luckily no one noticed."

"Right, I know that going on a date with Her Highness of all people is nice and all, but don't get carried away next time. We can't cover for you two all the time."

"I know. And it wasn't a date," Shirou nodded.

"It sooooo was a date," one of the twins mumbled while the other nodded knowingly. Before anything else was said, however, the three of them noticed someone approaching and looked up, just in time to see Agnes looking at them with her usual stern look. Shirou could feel the air around them stiffen as the Captain got closer, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw the smiles gradually slip from the twins' faces.

"Good morning, Captain," said Shirou as he rose from the bench, the other two followed suit while giving each other nervous glances. Agnes, on the other hand, regarded them with a slight nod.

"Are you three finished with your practice?" She asked.

"We've just finished," Shirou answered.

"Good. Follow me, Her Highness wants to speak with you."

"All of us?" Asked one of the twins.

"That's what I just said," Agnes glared at her before turning away. "Come quickly, don't keep her waiting."

* * *

"Thank you all for coming," Henrietta said from behind her desk. Standing in front of her were Shirou, Agnes and the twins. "I'm sure you already know why I called you here."

"It's about our next mission," said Shirou. It wasn't a guess, but a statement. There wasn't any other reason for the Princess to summon all of them at the same time.

"Indeed," Henrietta nodded as she pulled out some documents from under her desk before distributing them to everyone. "This is our next target's dossier. Please read it before we move on to the next part."

Taking one of the files, Shirou started flipping through it. The dossier was quite detailed, but it wasn't such a surprise for the Princess to have this kind of information about her own Council members. Their next target was count Achmed, age fifty. He was one of the most wealthy and influential Nobles within Tristain. It wasn't difficult to see how a man of his calibre, when corrupted, could deal a heavy blow to the kingdom's already shaky power.

"I know this man," said the twin on the right, who, under the presences of Henrietta and Agnes, had revealed herself to be Cecile. "Do you remember him, sis?"

"Well, I'm sure that everyone in Tristain has heard of him, seeing who he is," Caterine nodded. "But yes, I remember him."

"You two have met him before?" Asked Shirou, not looking up from the papers in his hand.

"Only once," Cecile answered. "Before becoming Musketeers, we were looking for a job and applied to become his guards."

"So you two have been there before?" Shirou finally peeked up. If that was true then they should remember, at least a little, the area.

"No they haven't," however, it was Henrietta who answered. "By chance, when Achmed held the test for the applicants, Agnes and I were also there. We saw these two's potential and decided to recruit them into the Musketeer Corp."

"But he didn't strike me as the corrupted sort, did he, sis?" Caterine frowned as he looked at her own file.

"No," Cecile shook her head. "He was easygoing, that's for sure. But that could just be a mask."

"It's better if you're careful with this mission," for the first time since they entered the room, Agnes said. "We have suspicions about this man, what we need now is evidence. However, mask or not, Achmed is an easygoing man, very approachable for a high ranking Noble. His people and employees actually like him, so take extra caution. Maybe no one cared when Gauvain was raided, but imagine what would happen if word got out that Her Highness of all people, ordered an infiltration on this man's mansion…"

"There would be an uproar…" Shirou grimaced. They had to avoid that situation at all costs.

"Which is also why I decided to call you here," Henrietta said. "Due to the nature of this mission, we can't afford to bring in too many people. Everyone who knows about it is standing in this room, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"As you wish, Your Highness," they answered in unison.

"Very good," the Princess smiled. "Now, Agnes has done an impressive job of scouting out the field for us, all on her own. Here, we have a rough map of the mansion itself. There may be some missing details here and there but it should give you an idea to work with. This is the patrol schedule…" She pulled out another paper and set it on top of the desk. "Quite detailed. But as you can see, security here is much tighter than Gauvain's mansion. There's also the employee's schedule, and the layout of the wards."

Shirou glanced at each of the documents as they were presented. While he and Agnes weren't on a good terms, he would readily admit that the Captain was very competent in her job. For one person to get this much information wasn't an easy thing to do. However, a frown showed on his face as Shirou's eyes landed on the paper that explained the ward scheme. Taking a step forward, he took it to give it a closer look.

"Your Highness, I think we have a problem here," he murmured.

"So it's true," Henrietta sighed as all eyes focused on Shirou. "I've anticipated this since the first time I looked at that scheme, but I wanted you to confirm it."

"What's wrong?" Asked the twins in unison as they got closer and looked at the scheme over Shirou's shoulder.

"You see…" Shirou said. "This warding scheme is completely different from the one used at Gauvain's. Instead of using several ward stones placed around the perimeter, Achmed only uses one grand stone, which is also the central pillar of his mansion."

"Oh…" Caterine's eyes widened as she realized the problem.

"Yes," Shirou sighed. "With this setup, there's no way for me to get close enough to the ward stone to overload it, not without passing the ward's boundary first."

"This is a very good scheme to prevent the wards from being taken down from the outside," Henrietta said. "Of course, to combine so many types of wards into a single pillar stone is an extremely difficult thing to do, not to mention the power needed to maintain it. But it is not a problem for someone such as Achmed."

"Well, but it's obviously a problem for us," Cecile said.

"Unfortunately yes," the Princess closed her eyes for a moment. "I want all of us to focus on this problem first, because we won't be able to do anything else with it in the way. We have two weeks to find a solution, since Achmed will leave the mansion to go on a holiday with his family at that time, making it the perfect opportunity for us to strike. He is a powerful Noble in his own right, thus I would prefer not to deal with him. Any questions?"

"Captain," said Shirou. "How did you obtain this information without getting into the mansion yourself?"

Instead of answering, Agnes just glanced at Henrietta. After receiving a nod from the Princess, she finally said.

"I have an inside source, a maid who was hired just recently."

"Wait, can't we have her steal the evidence for us when she's cleaning or something?" Cecile perked up as she heard the answer.

"Don't be daft" Agnes glared at her. "First of all, she is just a regular person, not a spy. I actually had to trick the information out of her. Also, even if she agreed to help us, which is unlikely, there's no way she would be able to get through all the protections around what we need."

"So that's a no go. A good thing too. I don't like involving bystanders," Shirou sighed. For a brief moment, he could see Henrietta give him a gentle smile.

"How about sending in a bomb, disguised as a gift?" Asked Caterine thoughtfully. "We can find a way to get it close to the pillar then detonate it."

"I disagree," Shirou shook his head and looked at her solemnly. "Too risky. You can't tell if the explosion will harm somebody nearby. Also, destroying an important structure like that could make parts of the house fall down. We certainly don't want that."

"It would most likely be impossible even if we tried," Henrietta added. "It is likely that such an important structure would be reinforced with many powerful spells. To smuggle in the necessary amount of explosives to break it would be extremely difficult."

"How about attacking the ward with force?" Shirou asked. "Not exactly subtle, but I want to know if it can be done."

"I am not sure… Warding is not exactly my strong suite," Henrietta bit her lower lip as she inspected the scheme. "If I am not wrong, due to its enormous power supply, even if you managed to punch a hole in it, the ward would heal itself almost immediately. Definitely not enough time for anyone to come through."

"And it will attract attention too," Agnes growled.

"I know," Shirou held up his hand. "I'm just curious. What if the wards are shattered with a single attack then?"

Once again, all eyes in the room focused on Shirou. Finally, Henrietta answered.

"I have never heard of anyone with enough power to do that," she said, still keeping her eyes on him. "Though if that ever happened, the magical backlash from the attack would probably kill everyone standing nearby. Again, I am not sure, but I do not want to test my luck either."

"I see…" Murmured Shirou. It looked like they were running into a dead end before they even started. It wasn't possible to attack the ward stone from both inside and outside. Ramming the ward down with brute force was also out of the question. As of now, Achmed's mansion looked like an impenetrable fortress.

Still, there must be a hole somewhere, a weak point. He just needed to find it…

Taking another careful look at the map of the mansion, Shirou tried to see if he could use his bow to send some copies of Gae Dearg in. They should be able to pass through the ward without trouble, and if he managed to get five or six of them in…

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue. All around the mansion, there wasn't a single window that could give him a direct view of the pillar. It looked like getting in there himself and disabling the ward from inside was the only way to go. Unfortunately, how to pull it off was still a question that none of them had the answer for.

"It is getting late," came Henrietta's voice, pulling Shirou out of his thoughts. "We should call it a day here. I will give each of you a copy of the document. If any of you come up with anything, report to me or Agnes. We will get together again and see if we can make it work."

After they received their own document, they bowed to the Princess and left the room, each with their own thoughts. There was one thing that they were all certain about, that the upcoming mission definitely wasn't going to be easy.

**End of Chapter 6.**


	7. Chapter 7

For the entire following week, Shirou's mind was occupied with the upcoming mission, which was turning out to be more and more infeasible as the days went by. Unfortunately, none of the others who were involved had come up with any decent ideas either.

It wasn't as if sitting around the castle and thinking was all they did. Shirou, accompanied by the twins, had visited Achmed's mansion twice. The first trip was to observe the mansion's surroundings. It was easy getting past the outer gate that led into the count's territory, as in order to promote trading it was opened for everyone to enter and leave freely during the day. Believe it or not, Achmed owned a ridiculously large property that could easily house hundreds of people, which it did.

Despite the large number of civilian structures within his land, Achmed's mansion was located in the middle of a rather empty lot with its back facing a dense forest. In case anything went wrong, Shirou was certain that they could solve it without involving innocent bystanders.

On the other hand their second trip, where they intended to tackle the main problem, proved to be unfruitful. Just as the scheme suggested, there was no weak point within the wards, at least none that they could figure out. Even the entrance to the mansion itself was restricted. Only registered personnel could pass through the ward boundary unharmed. Anyone else that wanted to enter the mansion ground needed to have Achmed's given permission slip.

Like he had initially assessed, even in war time, the mansion was a very impressive fortress.

However, that wasn't enough to make Shirou give up. On the eighth night following the mission announcement he decided to take another trip, hoping to find something, anything, to help them.

After informing Henrietta of his absence, Shirou then changed into his mission gear and headed out. It took him quite a long time to reach Achmed's territory boundaries, reaching the mansion took even longer. It was much bigger than Gauvain's, and no matter how many times Shirou saw it, he was still impressed. Like on his last trip, he started to circle the mansion, avoiding the guards. This time, however, Shirou had traced a Gae Dearg and was carrying it with him. Finally, he'd settled on a nice spot at the back of the mansion, and began to probe the wards with the crimson spear.

It went without saying that Gae Dearg was able to pass through the ward without tripping anything. However, immediately after Shirou withdrew the spear, the hole it created was mended. Tracing another one, he then tried to use them both at the same time to carve into the ward. However, even with his body reinforced as much as it could handle, he still wasn't able to make it through in such a small window of time.

"Damn," Shirou frowned after his fifth try. He even used Rule Breaker as his last resort, but nothing happened. It wasn't much of a surprise though. In order for the dagger to work, he would have to use it directly on the ward stone.

Feeling slightly tired, Shirou finally decided to retreat back into the shadow of the forest and sat down. While trying to think of any other possible solutions that he hadn't tried yet, he sensed a prana source slowly approaching his position. There was no hostility, however, and Shirou was able to recognize its owner.

"You want me to arrest you again?" He called out, not bothering to turn back to look at the newcomer.

"Nice to meet you too, colleague," came Fouquet's voice. "Didn't think I would run into you again."

"What are you doing here?" Asked Shirou in an indifferent tone.

"How cold," the thief laughed. "And here I am actually missing you a little."

"I'm not here to play with you, Fouquet."

"Fine, fine," she replied and sat down next to Shirou, an unexpected move that surprised him a little. "Say, am I wrong to assume that we're here for the same reason? Thinking of raiding the popular count Achmed?"

Shirou didn't answer. After all, it wasn't like they were friends, and he didn't have to share anything with her.

"You can't ignore me forever, you know?" Fouquet snorted. "We're in the same boat here."

"No we aren't," Shirou grumbled. "I'm not here for my personal gain."

"Neither am I."

"Right," he shrugged.

"Well, it's true though," Fouquet sighed next to him. "Believe me or not, I'm here for a friend this time."

Once again, Shirou ignored her. They spent several minutes in silence together before she decided to stand up.

"As I said, silence doesn't really suit you, you know? Anyway, gotta go. Still it's nice seeing…"

Her sentence was cut short. From where he was, Shirou could see her eyes widen as she stared at him in shock. It was understandable, anyone would have reacted like that if they suddenly couldn't move their body. Right now, if Fouquet had been able to turn her head around, she would have seen a Black Key stuck to the ground, right where her shadow rested.

"You… What did you do to me?" She asked. There was a trace of fear mixed with anger in her voice.

"Keeping you here while I call reinforcements over to put you in jail," said Shirou, standing up. If he went back now and called Agnes, they would be able to return here before dawn.

"Wait," Fouquet called desperately as Shirou turned around. "I...I can help you get into Achmed's mansion. You still haven't found a way yet, right?"

That actually made Shirou pause for a second, considering her words. If he were to be honest, the offer was rather tempting, and she might actually know something that he didn't. However, considering the person the offer was coming from…

"You should save your sudden kindness for the interrogation," finally, Shirou said. "That may help with reducing your sentence, probably."

To his surprise, Fouquet chuckled and said with a mocking tone.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that. There are so many things I might let slip if I'm arrested, like, you know, the person responsible for the raid at Gauvain's…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Shirou replied, a little too quickly.

"And yet you still haven't gone back to call for reinforcements. Don't play dumb, colleague. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"You have no proof," Shirou said through gritted teeth.

"Do I?" Fouquet laughed. "More importantly, do you really want to risk it?"

Of course he didn't want to risk it. Henrietta's position was too important for them to risk anything that could damage it. He knew it was too good to be true when Fouquet didn't tell anyone about his true identity. Silently cursing himself, Shirou then turned around and faced the thief.

"What do you want?" He asked tiredly.

"Good answer," a grin crept onto Fouquet's face. "First, release me. I won't run away since we still have many things to talk about."

With a sigh, Shirou silently made the Black Key vanish. Apparently, Fouquet could feel it too, as she immediately stood up and started to dust herself off.

"Brimir, that was awful," she groaned. "How could you treat a lady like that? You're supposed to be a royal guard and all… Unless your little Princess likes it that way. Wait, does she?"

"Just tell me what you want," Shirou said, ignoring her obvious teasing, though he could feel his face heat up a little. Thankfully it was dark, so Fouquet couldn't see his face properly.

"Well, like I said, I will get you into Achmed's mansion. But you have to help me out with something first."

"That's not possible. I'm not going to help you in any of your heists, or anything to that effect," Shirou shook his head. He knew he was being a bit of a hypocrite, but there was a limit to what he was willing to do.

"I figured as much," Fouquet waved her hand dismissively. "How about a rescue mission?"

"I'll need more details than that."

"Right," she nodded. "Remember what I said about me being here for a friend? That's the truth. A while ago, my stupid partner got himself caught. He was about to be executed, secretly, of course. The catch is that I can trade a valuable artifact for his release."

"And said artifact is inside Achmed's mansion," Shirou guessed.

"Precisely," Fouquet grinned. "Only a tiny little problem remains. Namely, that this mansion is just like a damned fortress, and I might not make it in time if I were to work alone. It maybe possible with the two of us. However, a much better idea came to my mind."

"Which is?"

"You help me rescue my partner, then we will help you, and your little party, get inside the mansion," she continued. "Because frankly, it would be much easier if we had that guy here with us."

"How do I know you aren't just saying that to make me want to save your friend?" Shirou frowned. "Who is he? And how can he help us?"

"He's an old friend. We go way back. That guy is a rather... let's say unique, Warding specialist," Fouquet answered, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Underground, of course. He's also a bit of an idiot, but I doubt that you could find anyone else with his kind of talent."

"Anything to prove that?"

"Nothing," the thief shrugged playfully. "If you choose not to believe me, that's fine. Since you let me go, I won't tell anyone about you or your little Princess even if you walk away now. But think about it, colleague, can you do it all by yourself?" She pointed her thumb backward at the mansion. "It can't hurt to accept a little help, can it? After all, we will both benefit from this."

"As good as it sounds, Fouquet. I have no reason to believe you," Shirou sighed. If what she said was true, then it was indeed a way out of the problem that they were facing. On the other hand, the one who was making the offer was an infamous thief. Anyone would be wary of her.

"You don't have to decide now," said Fouquet, smirking. "Talk about it with your Princess if you want. I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow as well. If you don't come, I'll take it as a refusal and we will be on our own ways. Goodbye."

With that, she walked away and soon disappeared from sight. Her prana signature was also gone shortly after, leaving Shirou alone, staring at the fortress in front of him while thoughts swirled in his mind.

"I will need to talk to Henrietta first," Finally, he thought, shaking his head. It was only natural to seek her opinion, seeing how it affected her personally.

* * *

When Shirou finally returned to the castle, it was late into the night. Despite what Henrietta had said about feeling free to talk to her anytime if there was progress with the mission, he still decided to wait until morning before bothering her.

At least, that was what Shirou intended to do at first, but it all changed the moment he happened to walk by Henrietta's study. It was faint, but there was definitely a sound coming from inside that caught his attention.

"Was that… sobbing?" Shirou stopped in his tracks and wondered. He then darted his eyes along the hallway. No one was there. It was doubtful that the Musketeer guards would leave the Princess alone at a time like this. On the other hand, he was sure that it was her behind the door. Hesitating for a moment, Shirou finally took a step forward and knocked lightly on the door.

"Anyone in there?" He asked. The sound stopped, but there was no answer. Strange.

"Your Highness, is that you?" He called again. A few seconds passed with no response from the other side, however, at last Shirou could hear light footsteps getting closer and closer until the door slowly opened. It was indeed Henrietta who was in there.

"Shirou?" She asked, a little surprised. "I didn't expect you to return this early."

"Something came up and I decided to come back. I was going to discuss it with you in the morning," Shirou replied as he looked at the Princess. It was obvious that the earlier sobbing was hers, if her red eyes were anything to go by.

"More importantly, are you alright, Your Highness?" He asked. He couldn't help but feel concerned. Something terrible must have happened while he was gone. He'd never seen Henrietta cry, even on their first meeting where she had a blade pressed against her neck.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just couldn't sleep with everything going on," she said and gave Shirou a gentle smile. However, it was a little forced.

"I see," Shirou nodded. It looked like Henrietta wasn't going to tell him what was bothering her anytime soon. Still, it might not be such a good idea to leave her alone. Her emotional state aside, they were in dangerous times. If the King could be murdered in his own quarters, then nowhere was truly safe.

"Say, would you like some tea?" He asked, then quickly waved his hands as he saw her opening her mouth to refuse. "I'm not that sleepy anyway. If anyone needs to be in bed right now, that's you, Your Highness."

"Oh, alright then," finally, Henrietta relented and stepped aside to let Shirou in. "Sorry for making you do this."

"Think nothing of it," giving her a smile, Shirou then started preparing the tea. While he was doing so, there was an awkward silence between them. Despite having a rather good start, he was now at a lost for words, not knowing anything to say in that situation.

Luckily for him, it wasn't long before Henrietta decided to break the ice.

"So Shirou, you said you wanted to discuss something with me?" She asked as he placed the tea tray between them.

"I don't think right now is a good time," Shirou frowned a little as he sat down on the opposite seat from her. "I'm sure that anything work related can wait…"

"It's okay, Shirou," Henrietta shook her head. "If it's related to the mission, I want to hear it now. We don't have much time left."

"If you're certain…" Said Shirou, feeling rather unsure about it but decided to talk anyway. At least they wouldn't have to just stare at each other while drinking tea. "I ran into Fouquet. I was about to arrest her, but…" He paused and scratched his head bashfully.

"But she got you by threatening to reveal your secret," said Henrietta.

"That's right. My apologies, Your Highness," Shirou sighed.

"There's no need," she shook her head and sipped on her tea. "I figured that she would use that information against us when she got the chance. What happened next?"

"She then offered to help me to get into Achmed's mansion. The catch is that I have to help her rescue her partner who got himself captured. According to Fouquet, this guy is supposed to be some kind of warding genius."

"Is he now?" This time it was Henrietta's turn to frown. "Did she mention his name?"

"She didn't," Shirou replied.

"Well, there aren't many people who could be considered that, even among the royal circle. The number is even smaller if we only take the underground specialists into account…" said Henrietta, more to herself than to Shirou. Though he was a little relieved to note that she looked a little better than when he first entered the room.

"It would be a huge advantage if we could get someone like that on our side," Shirou said thoughtfully. "But it's Fouquet who is making the offer. Do you know anything about her? Is there anyway we can verify her information?"

"She's crafty, that's for sure," answered the Princess. "Unfortunately, it looks like that's our best bet right now."

"So you suggest accepting her offer?"

"Honestly? I think it's worth a try," she said. "Even if Fouquet lied to us, we would just come back to where we are now. If she really wanted to harm our reputation, she would have done so already, without going through so much trouble. What do you think, Shirou? I want to hear your opinion."

"I'm conflicted," Shirou admitted with a sigh. "Like you said, it's a good chance for us to get the ward problem out of the way. On the other hand, I'm wary of working alongside a criminal. Is it too late for us to change targets now, Your Highness?"

"We can do that," Henrietta nodded. "But this is the best opportunity for us to get to Achmed. If we postpone it now, it will only get harder in the future," she then paused and observed his expression. "I'm not saying that to pressure you. If you really don't want to do it, we can think of something else."

"I understand," said Shirou after taking a moment to consider his options. She was right, a chance like that was hard to let go, and he could see how important it was. "I...will give it a go. But I have to see Fouquet first to make sure her plan doesn't involve anything too outlandish."

"It's your decision," the Princess said. "Though if you are going to do it, please keep it hidden from Agnes. I don't think she will approve."

"Yeah… I can't even imagine what she would do to me if she ever got wind of it," Shirou shuddered as he thought about the hot headed Captain. However, his answer managed to make Henrietta chuckle lightly.

"I will wish you luck if it comes to that," she joked before smiling at him. "Thank you, Shirou. And I'm sorry for making you worry. I...wasn't in my best mood today."

"It's no problem, Your Highness. I'm happy that you're feeling better," Shirou returned her smile as he stood up to clean the tea set. As he was putting them away onto a shelf, Shirou heard Henrietta's voice from behind him. All of a sudden, her voice sounded so despondent that it made his heart wrench.

"You know, Shirou, I received a letter today from Wales. Albion just lost another major battle yesterday. He didn't show it, but I think he was losing hope."

"So that's the reason she cried," thought Shirou. However, he didn't say anything. He knew that she hadn't finished.

"Sometimes I wish I could just leave everything behind and be with him, to help him with his battle. I just feel so...useless, sitting here in safety when my loved one is risking his life on the field," she paused and took in a deep breath before continuing. "Ever since you came here, we've managed to make some progress, and I've been thinking that way less and less. But those battle reports...and his letter...they feel like a slap to my face…"

"You shouldn't think like that, Your Highness," Shirou cut her off as he returned to his seat and looked at her solemnly. "Just like you said, we're making some real progress. Maybe things aren't going as quickly as you hoped them to be, but it's already getting better, thanks to you. As for Prince Wales, I don't know him personally, but from what I've heard about him he's a great man. I'm sure that whatever he is doing out there, it isn't just for his kingdom, but for you and Tristain's safety as well. It isn't right to have such discouraging thoughts, Your Highness."

"I know that," Henrietta said and gave him a sad smile. "And I won't let any of this affect my work. Still, it's hard to pretend that I'm not hurt or worried. I...just get tired of it sometimes."

"It's natural to be like that," said Shirou. "You're not a machi-I mean golem, after all. I'm glad that you told me about all this. It's not good to keep these kinds of thoughts bottled up."

"And thank you for listening, Shirou," she said after eyeing him curiously. "It actually makes me feel a little better."

"You're welcome," Shirou smiled. "If you don't mind, you can come and talk with me anytime you want."

"I think I will accept that offer," Henrietta replied. "We should get to bed though. It's really late now, and we have a full day of work ahead of us. I will write back to Wales in the morning."

The two of them then left the study. Shirou intentionally stayed behind for a little while to wait for the Princess to get back to her room before moving. It wasn't safe for the two of them to be seen together at this time. Nasty rumours could come from it, and that was one of the last things that they needed.

* * *

The following night, when Shirou got to the meeting place, Fouquet had already been waiting, leaning against a big tree and looking at his direction with a triumphant grin on her face.

"I take it you have your answer?" She asked.

"I still don't trust you," Shirou grumbled. "But I can't deny a good chance when I see one. I will be keeping an eye on you however, if you try to double cross me..."

"Wouldn't dream of it, colleague," Fouquet snorted and handed him a package.

"What is this?" Shirou raised an eyebrow.

"The outfit that you will use during the rescue."

"Why do I need this?" He frowned, taking the package from her hand. "What's wrong with my current outfit?"

"It's not appropriate for what we will be doing," Fouquet just shrugged and replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right, but what exactly is it that we will be doing? I'm not here to play, Fouquet. Either you give it to me straight or I'm going back."

"Impatient, aren't we?" She gave him a mocking sigh, as if to test his temper even more. "I understand that you hate me. But if we're working together, at least put a little faith in me, won't you?"

"Don't go asking for the impossible," Shirou rolled his eyes before realizing that she couldn't see it because of his hood. "But at least we can compromise, I will not question your methods and I expect the same from you, deal?"

Silence fell between them as the thief considered his words. Finally, she said.

"Fine. Looks like that's the best I can get at the moment. Anyway, this is where we will be going."

She then took out a piece of paper out from inside her robe and gave it to Shirou, who soon realized that it was an invitation to a ball at the mansion of a Noble named Eldric.

"Where is this place? I think I've seen it somewhere before but…" Shirou mumbled as he saw the mansion's address.

"It's quite far from the city. It will take us half a day to get there if we managed to find a good carriage," Fouquet answered. "Am I wrong to assume that you don't know anything about that prick either?"

Shirou shook his head.

"Well, to start, he's an arm dealer, quite a dirty trader despite being a Noble," the thief started pacing back and forth, her hand under her chin as she spoke. "Of course, not many people are aware of that little secret. Though I know that he, or at least his contacts, were quite famous among assassins and mercenaries."

"Still, you wouldn't call that 'dirty', would you?" Shirou asked. "There are weapon shops everywhere in the city that anyone, even the shady sort, can go in and buy something from."

"True, but the owners of the shops you mentioned have to get a license, which needs to be renewed once a year. And the price for those is rather steep," Fouquet snorted dryly. "Just another form of thievery, really. Even so, they still aren't allowed to sell some of the more 'interesting' kind of enchanted goods."

"So basically, this guy is doing so illegally," Shirou mumbled, wondering just how many nobles there were in Tristain that weren't corrupt in one way or another.

"Exactly, and that isn't even the best part," the thief grinned widely. "There's also a rumour of him selling weapons to the Reconquista. You know, the one rebel group that is laying siege around Albion?"

"What?" Shirou's eyebrow shot up at that piece of news. "Where did you hear that? Do you have any proof?"

"None. And calm down, you're scaring me," Fouquet said. "Like I said. It's just a rumour. How about finding the proof yourself once we get in there?"

"I have no doubt about that," Shirou growled as he stared at the invitation in his hand. Reconquista, the group that was causing Henrietta and her lover so much grief. And that tosser was actually supporting them just for the sake of his wealth. The idea alone make Shirou's blood boil as he thought about it. What did that damned Noble think would happen once Albion fell anyway?

"That's a good attitude," Fouquet chuckled. "Just don't lose sight of our deal. I still haven't revealed your little secret yet, but if you screw up or anything happens to my partner because of you, then there will be hell to pay."

"As long as you keep your end of the deal, I'll keep mine," Shirou said. "When will we start?"

"The time and place is already in your hand," the thief pointed to the invitation. "It's two days from now. However, since the party starts at six in the evening, we would have to meet at five in the morning. I will take care of the transportation. Come to the inn located in the town square at the appointed time and I'll see you there."

"Works for me," Shirou nodded. "What about the action plan?"

"Since I'm familiar with the field this time, I'll give you a briefing on the carriage. Just prepare yourself the best you can. I think we will have to improvise a lot during this rescue."

"Somehow that doesn't assure me," Shirou sighed. "Basically, we will have to sneak in during the ball, improvise a lot, rescue your partner all while finding my proof then get out of there?"

"Hold on," Fouquet raised her hand. "Who said anything about sneaking in?"

"Then what do you suggest? Please don't tell me we're going to use that giant golem of yours…"

"Oh no, we aren't," hearing his words, a grin started to spread on Fouquet's face, sending a chill down Shirou's spine. His eyes then widened as he saw her pulling out from her robe another paper identical to the one he was holding.

"We will walk in through the front gate, as invited guests. And you will be my date for the night, colleague," her grin turned into laughter as she showed Shirou her own invitation letter.

**End of Chapter 7**

_**A/N: **_**This chapter is a bit short, but I think it's good to end here. The next chapter is going to feature Eldric's ball and I don't want to split it up. Hope you enjoyed the update :D.**


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